The Pilot, The Survivor and The Thief (Discontinued)
by Lynx Piro
Summary: All we got about the Empire before The Force Awakens was that they left to the Unknown regions. However, we don't know much about what they did other than rebuilding. This is my take on what goes on after the Battle of Jakku. [Full summary inside] Slow build of romance, although not the focus and First Order based with OCs inside to make it interesting.
1. Introductions

A.N. This book will be a **slow romance build** between [Pair 1] and [Pair 2] but for [Pair 3], it will be a typical break-up, get back together kind of relationship. It's like a high school kind of book except it's in Star Wars... I can only hope that it meets your expectations and mine.

The character's here will be **influenced based on the chosen songs** for their characters - all by a youtuber named **UNDERDOGS** (spacing between each letter) and yes they are all nightcore - and some other traits that I decide to add. If I go off course with the characters then I apologize for I am still not that good in writing a good story or sticking to one plot.

This chapter is more of **introductions, movie trailer style** and **doesn't affect the bulk of the story**. Either way, I hope you enjoy and sorry for the long author's note.

* * *

 **The Pilot, the Survivor and the Thief**

Summary:

All we got about the Empire before The Force Awakens was that they left to the Unknown regions. However, we don't know much about what they did other than rebuilding. This is my take on what goes on after the Battle of Jakku. In this tale, we follow the story of three individuals.

The Pilot, born from a Corellian smuggler family, captured on an unknown planet. The Survivor, born on Mandalore, happened to crash onto the planet the First Order resided. Lastly, the thief, born on Tatooine and lived as one of the finest thieves.

They will assist in the rise of the First Order.

* * *

[Pair 1] = Beauty and a beat/Mowgli's Road X Hold Me Down/Bachelor's Best Mistake

##

A pilot sees and hears everything in the cockpit. They don't need a scanner to know where their enemies lay. All they need is the sound of engines and blaster fire.

This is the case with Trihorn and his co-pilot, Mart who was firing at their enemies.

"Hit him, Mart. I don't have all day." Trihorn grumbled, trying to stay behind the target.

"Hey, it's difficult when you're shaking." Mart argued, spamming the trigger to hit the target. "Stop shaking!"

"I'm not!"

"Yes too!"

"Yes not!"

"What does that even mean?" Mart queried, managing to finally hit the target.

"No idea." Trihorn deadpanned with a shrug.

 **::Gamma Leader, will you please focus at the task at hand and not your silly bicker.::** Hux sighed through the comms causing Trihorn to chuckle.

"Sorry sir, but we are about to complete our task." Mart replied.

 **::Not so. The Captain requires air support.::**

"On our way. Gamma squad, on me." Trihorn ordered, seeing the other four TIEs that form up Gamma squadron rendezvous with him.

Gamma squad is in fact the only squad to have five TIEs with Trihorn and Mart being Gamma Leader. This was because Gamma squad is high command's air support, taking direct command from Snoke or any of the triumvirate in current command. Other than that, Trihorn took direct orders from General Hux after a promise he did to the young General's father.

"Say, what should we have for breakfast tomorrow?" Mart questioned out of no where, nearly causing Trihorn to dive prematurely.

"Are you really talking about that now?" Trihorn asked sarcastically, dodging an incoming x-wing. "But if you must know, I'm thinking spices."

 **::I thought I told you to burn those.::** Hux voiced out irritably.

"That's the thing, Hux. It's only to infuriate you." Trihorn smirked, high-fiving with Mart when they heard the General sigh.

 **::Focus at the task at hand.::**

"Oh come on, I know you want some." Trihorn grinned cheekily before Mart destroyed an x-wing. "It's not like you're enjoying your bottle of alcohol either."

 **::If you do not arrive on time, the Captain** ** _will_** **die. This is not a fact,** ** _Gamma Leader_** **.::** Hux stressed the title name causing Trihorn to huff.

"Alright, fine." Trihorn sighed, changing the subject. "Gamma One, Gamma Two, give us cover. Gamma Three, Gamma Four, follow me."

They immediately split into the two teams, moving as one like they've done it a million times. Trihorn circled in the air, higher above to get an overhead view of the current situation. His eyes landed on the Resistance fighters, surrounding Phasma's squadron who were in a trench. Trihorn narrowed his eyes when he noticed the Resistance fighters, closing in like a swarm of bees so he immediately did a dive, the other two TIEs following suit.

"Uh, Tri... What are you doing?" Mart questioned when he noticed they were not pulling up.

"Don't pull up!" Trihorn yelled to the other two.

 **::This is insane! We won't make it!::** Gamma Three yelled.

"Stay on target!"

"Tri!"

"Stay on target!" Trihorn repeated firmly, pulling some switches before he saw the other two TIEs pull up.

He only rolled his eyes, flicked the controls so that they were perpendicular to the ground and turned on hover mode above Phasma and her squadron. Mart took it as a signal to fire so he pressed the trigger and cheered when Trihorn, slowly turned the TIE in a circle on its axis, causing them to fire on the Resistance fighters. They only flew off once they had killed the Resistance surrounding their allies and Trihorn saw the troopers looking up at him while Phasma well, he just knew she was smiling.

"Now that's how you make an entrance!" Mart laughed and Trihorn smiled.

"No, that's how you get a date."

* * *

[Pair 2] = Emperor's New Centuries/Cake X Heart Attack/Roman Holiday x Carousel x Suburbia

##

There's a difference between a warrior and a soldier. A warrior knows when to sacrifice and when to use force. A soldier follows all orders blindly and is expendable.

 **::Lynx, meet me at the entrance of the base in ten minutes.::** Phasma ordered and the orange haired girl gave an exasperated from sigh from being woken up from her sleep.

"I'll be there." She replied, turning off her communicator and sluggishly got up from her bed.

She did a bit of stretching, her spine popping back into place while her other comrades were still asleep. She entered the showers and took a quick one, seeing as she didn't want to be late before going back out. She put on her special Mandalorian armor, the same way she had practiced every single day and compared to her other friends, she was a part of the special squad - thus she was allowed to wear her own armor.

After grabbing her blaster from the shelf, she patted her partner from the top bunk bed to tell her that she was meeting Phasma. The other girl only yawned in response, allowing Lynx to walk down the halls to the entrance. When she arrived, she realized that Phasma wasn't the only one there as she heard male voices talking. One of them was arguing about something but Lynx didn't care too much, especially when a sand storm was brewing outside.

"There is no way, I am walking out there to the shuttle!" General Hux yelled and Lynx nearly rolled her eyes at how childish he sounded.

"Sir, we even have Lieutenant Trihorn to be your pilot. You cannot deny the journey now." Phasma tried to persuade but Hux was being stubborn.

"No, I will not leave until the storm is over." He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest before turning to look at Lynx when she approached them.

"Sir." Lynx saluted and Hux was slightly surprised to see her here.

"What are you doing here?"

"I ordered her to come here." Phasma explained then looked at Lynx. "Give your helmet to the General."

"That won't be necessary." Hux said before Lynx even made a move.

"General, time is not by our side with this mission." Kylo Ren, who had been watching the whole thing by the door, spoke up.

"I am not wearing one of those helmets." Hux hissed, glaring at the Knight. "And I've said before that I-!"

Before he could finish the sentence, Lynx rolled her eyes once again and took off her helmet, not caring whether he enjoyed it or not. She shook her head to straighten her hair before looking at Hux, giving her helmet to him with a serious look.

"Sir, unlike most of us, you shouldn't waste time unless you want to see your work of labor go to waste. You are essential to our success so I insist that you take my helmet and move to the shuttle, sir." She waited until Hux grabbed her helmet before she took a step back.

Hux looked at said helmet then gave a huff, putting it on and walked away while Phasma placed a hand on Lynx's shoulder. "Good to know he still listens to you."

"Takes a bit of persuasion before he does." Lynx replied and was about to walk away when Ren whispered,

 _I wouldn't go anywhere yet._

 _Of course._ She replied, standing just out of Hux's view but not Ren or Phasma.

She watched them walk out, disappearing into the sand storm and couldn't help but feel a sense of dread in her heart. She knew that Ren must have planned this or something because this definitely didn't feel normal. Other than that, Ren was a mischievous adult whose goals were unclear to her but at least she knew that he wanted Mia...

"Ren!" Her sharp hearing picked up Hux's call in the sand storm and that caused her to sigh.

Apparently, Ren did plan for this to happen. Without thinking, she started trudging through the storm in the direction the trio had walked towards. She didn't need a helmet for this really. All she could use was her sense of direction and hearing which had evolved during her solo training. After a few minutes, she was able to make out Hux's form in the storm and walked towards him.

Hux doesn't enjoy getting his personal space intruded but in this case, Lynx was willing to break that rule and held his shoulder, telling him that she was here. She couldn't tell if he was looking at him because her eyes were closed but she did a hand signal, telling him to follow her. She started moving again in the direction of the shuttle based on her memory from where it was parked before feeling him put a hand on her shoulder, holding tightly.

She just continued walking since she couldn't hear anything he was saying before she felt him let go of her shoulder when the shuttle's lights came into view. She walked up the ramp and shook her head, causing sand to fall out of her hair and ears before she looked out the ramp to see Hux still making his way towards it. She found it odd because he had just been behind her moments ago unless he had let go while they were still a distance away.

Then, her ears perked up at the sound of something crashing in the storm. It was barely discernible from all the noise the sand storm was giving but Lynx could clearly hear it and Hux could see it coming in his direction. Since he had been holding his right hand up to block the storm from hitting the helmet, Lynx used that opportunity to grab his hand and pulled his ass into the shuttle, slinging her left arm over his shoulder then using her body to block a probable hit from the wreckage.

However, the wreckage which had been a satellite dish just passed by leaving the both of them unharmed. They stared out into the storm before she took a step away from him and held her hand out, telling him that she wanted her helmet back. Hux took off said helmet and she noticed that he was breathing heavily, recovering from his surprise before he gave the helmet back to her.

"Follow us, if you will." Hux ordered then walked deeper into the shuttle while Lynx put on her helmet.

She stared outside to the sandstorm, blaster held tight in her hands before she turned around and followed Hux into the shuttle.

First impressions were everything to warriors.

* * *

[Pair 3] = I Write The Sharpest Take Over/Bubblegum Bitch X New Americana/Battle Scars X Set Me Free

##

The work of a thief isn't that easy. They are always cautious of their surroundings even though it is safe and even if it wasn't, they are always looking for a way out.

Mia's current work was simple. While the rest of the Knights distracted the opposition party, she was to sneak inside and steal the documents. Her work was somewhat reminiscent of a spy except that she wasn't. If she was a spy, she would be disguised and blending in to head to the office that contained the documents. No, she was a thief and she used the vents to get to where she needed to be.

 _Are we there yet?_ Zephyr, who was a mute physically but not mentally and strong in the telepathy aspect of the force, asked.

 _Almost there._ Mia responded, opening up to the force to scan the room below her. _Room is empty._

 _I'm right behind you._ Zephyr assured.

Mia gave a mental nod before dropping down with a graceful and silent landing that was perfected over the years of her mischief deeds. She moved away to allow Zephyr to drop down, caution flowing strongly through the force. Zephyr searched through the messy desk while Mia scanned the room for any secret compartment. After a few minutes of tossing every single useless paper to the ground, Zephyr moved on to look through every book before getting stopped by Mia.

"Did you really?" She questioned, pointing at the messy floor.

 _What?_

"A thief doesn't leave the whole place messy like you did!" Mia whisper yelled, panicking slightly. "Clean this up before they return!"

 _Why? I don't see the reason for it and it makes our search faster._ Zephyr retorted, already looking through the next shelf.

"Suspicions!" Mia grabbed Zephyr's hand, stopping her from throwing down a bag full of stuff. "We stay quiet. We stay hidden. That's the rule of thieves."

 _I thought you have a code._

"That's a different story." Mia huffed before she looked at the door when voices echoed outside. "They've returned."

 _We need more time._

 _I can give some._ Ren muttered, entering their mental link.

Voices outside turned into shouts and screams while the two ladies continued their search. By the time Ren finished toying with the soldiers outside, they had found what they were looking for and stepped out to see sliced bodies laying on the floor. Mia rolled her eyes at Ren before running for it when more Resistance fighters came around, firing at them. Although, none of them hit their mark as Zephyr was able to mess with their minds, making their aiming extremely terrible.

 _Knights, it's time to leave._ Ren spoke through their open connection.

 _On our way boss._ Muna Grif'Lai, one of the two Kaleesh twins in their team, responded.

"Firing squad ahead." Mia muttered when Resistance fighters formed up in front of them.

"You know what to do." Ren said and Mia smirked before opening up to the force, drawing in the power.

A minute later, she was running faster than Ren or Zephyr and within seconds, she was slicing through the squad of Resistance fighters with a speed unmatched by any of them. Once every single one of them was dead, she continued running ahead to leave a carnage behind her everywhere she went. When she reached outside, she saw their shuttle waiting and the two Kaleesh twins fighting against the Resistance with a synchronization that only force-bonded twins could achieve.

"Get to the shuttle!" Mia yelled, pulling out her lightsaber when Resistance fighters aimed at her.

She deflected a few shots while subconsciously ensuring Ren and the others had entered the shuttle. Then, she turned off her lightsaber to draw in the power of the force which to her, basically slowed down her surroundings but to everyone else, she had gained speed. They tried to shoot her down but soon, Mia was safe in the shuttle with the other Knights and they took off, back to base. Mia was greeted by the one Knight whose work proved to be tougher than hers.

"Abra, how nice to see you." She smiled, pulling the slightly smaller man into a hug.

"I'm glad you're safe."

"Are you joking?" She scoffed, parting from him. "You work as a spy! I should be saying that to you."

"Greetings, Mia." A sentient feline took a seat beside Abra while Mia parted from him with a smile.

"Hey Nyla. Haven't gotten into a fight yet, have you?" Mia asked the Cor who nodded.

"Thankfully. If we did get into one, it wouldn't be good for both of our pacifistic nature." Nyla said and Mia patted the feline on the head despite its protests.

"Well, I'm glad you're both safe." She repeated again before looking at Ren who entered the room and Mia passed him the data she had found. "Everything should be here."

"Well done."

There's a difference between a thief and a spy. Only those who understand their work, know their differences.


	2. Chapter 1

A.N. Now, I realize that when you're 10 years old, the mind is still immature and child talk occurs but well, this is the military so maybe their English got like upgraded or something... I dunno.

Also I really recommend you listen to those songs in the previous chapter. They are really good. :)

* * *

 **The Pilot**

Six months after Battle of Jakku

##

"Hide him!" A man, currently wearing a hood, told his wife who held the hand of a four-year-old child, standing on his own two feet.

"There's nowhere left to go… They've cornered us." The wife said after taking a peek outside the window.

"Come out of the house now before we storm in!" An officer ordered and the man gritted his teeth.

Then, the man knelt down in front of the boy, one hand tracing his face. The boy had bright blue eyes, almost electric just like her mother but his features resembled him. He knew, that his son will not be anything but great. If the child was to be put in a military, he would be the best pilot and he would be proud of that even though it was for a cause he did not believe in. The man took out a necklace from his pockets, clipping it around his son's neck, holding out the circular shaped necklace in his hands.

"Remember, my child. Make friends first, before enemies." He muttered, opening the necklace to show a picture to the left, then an engraving to the right. "You will make a fine pilot in the navy."

"Daddy?" The boy questioned, tilting his head slightly before getting hugged by both of his parents.

"We love you."

##

A score that could not be beaten. A record that could not be replicated. It was the only thing he heard when he first entered the Order. Someone had set a record in the school and he was willing to break it. He didn't know where he came from. He doesn't even remember who his parents were but the only thing he knew was a simple phrase. It was his code, one that he lived by ever since he first arrived on the planet.

Make friends first, before enemies.

When he first entered, he was immediately put into a propaganda room where he watched the Empire win countless of victories with a narration so subjective, he wanted to vomit after watching it for the twentieth time. Unlike most of the other children, he noticed that he was more aware and more intelligent which caused him to be top of the class during their first exam. It was a simple exam really because they were still children but he showed an IQ higher than that of the others.

He immediately caught the attention of high command, or more importantly, Brendol Hux who had been watching him with interest. He found the boy to be interesting because while most others stayed to themselves, he would be the one trying to get them to talk. He seemed confident and that was something Brendol wanted to instill in all of his child soldiers. The boy was given the serial number HN-3333, and by the age of eight, he gave himself the name of Trihorn.

When he reached the age of ten, Trihorn had made a few friends but a lot of enemies. Most of his enemies were from the ex-Imperials, who were jealous of his achievements. During class, he has shown exceptional attention in learning and his instructors were impressed when he was put into his first ever simulation. It was a test flight considering Trihorn learned much quicker than the other Cadets.

He passed the course with flying colors.

During a meeting, officers started questioning whether the child was a force sensitive. However, after a quick blood test, that idea was ruled out. Trihorn barely had a single midi-chlorian within him. They decided that his parents were great pilots and that skill was passed down to him which made him a worthy opponent to the New Republic.

 **::This is a routine escort. You are not to move out formation, is that clear?::**

"Yes, sir." HN-3312 was one of Trihorn's enemies but for now, he was his wing man along with the other two vessels. "See anything out there, 33?"

"Nothing yet, 12." Trihorn replied, looking at his scanner. "Seems empty."

"It doesn't stay empty for long. Keep your eyes and ears open." 17 retorted before kicking back in his seat, not enjoying being put in a squad with the child.

 _'Amateur.'_ He chuckled darkly in his mind. _'Nothing happens in these tests.'_

"Hey 15, what's on the agenda?" 12 asked his friend who was flying behind him.

While the other three started conversing, Trihorn was on high alert. He was on edge because he could hear something but couldn't see it. It was the low rumbling of an engine and after messing with the scanner for a while, he still could not pinpoint its location. The atmosphere of the simulation was foggy although that didn't stop the enemy from attacking. A minute later, Trihorn stopped fidgeting with the instruments.

"Check your right." He mumbled into the comms.

"What?" 12 questioned but otherwise, mostly ignored him.

Trihorn could clearly hear the engine of an X-wing approaching, "17, check your right. We have incoming."

"Oh, but you're a child! Why would we listen to you?" 15 said jokingly causing all of them except Trihorn to laugh.

"You are but a boy!" 17 added but nonetheless went to check.

However, before he could turn and fire, the X-wing fired at 17's TIE fighter, causing it to blow up. The hole allowed the second X-wing to fire at the transport whose shields barely held up in the barrage. Panic gripped 12 and 15 but Trihorn was the first to act, firing at the X-wing when it passed him. He landed a few good hits causing the X-wing to crash towards the ground. The second X-wing though, used the fog to its advantage.

"Shut it!" He yelled into the comms when he tried to listen.

"Don't you tell me what to do, 33!" 15 hissed, before getting shot down.

"15!" 12 was about to fly away but Trihorn got in the way. "Move!"

"Stay your course!" Trihorn growled before moving out of the way when the X-wing went for another dive bomb, completely draining the shields of the transport.

"We won't make it!" 12 yelled.

"We will." Trihorn said firmly, "Listen."

"Now's not the time!"

"Listen!" Trihorn retorted and 12 did so, hearing a low rumble that was different from the TIE's engines. "Do you hear it?"

"Y- yes." 12 answered, tilting his head slightly to the right. "It's coming to our right!"

Trihorn and 12 immediately turned their TIEs to the right to shoot down the X-wing. However, the X-wing dodged their combined attack and went to destroy their transport, the explosion, destroying them as well. Darkness engulfed Trihorn before a red light appeared, signalling that they failed their simulation. He sighed and climbed out of the hatch, walking down the ramp to report to their commanding officer.

"This is your fault, 17." 12 hissed at the other teen.

"What? You're the one who told me not to listen to the boy!" 17 retorted before getting silenced by none other than Commandant Brendol Hux, now General of the First Order. Their real commanding officer stood at the side.

"Silence! I will no longer listen to your petty arguments." He said, glancing at them before his eyes landed on Trihorn. "You, follow me."

"Yes, sir." Trihorn stood straighter before following his superior.

On the inside, he was nervous. This was his superior after all so one wrong move and he might be punished for insubordination. He didn't want that to happen because a clean record will get you far in any military operations. After walking down countless hallways, they arrived at room which he noted was a meeting room. Why would he come here?

"Armitage! Where are you, boy?" The older Hux called and Trihorn looked around the room to try spot the boy.

"Ouch!" Trihorn jumped slightly when the table bounced before a red-haired boy moved away from under the table. "Here father!"

"What were you doing?" Brendol questioned the younger Hux who was rubbing his head.

"I dropped my pen." He said, embarrassed before his eyes landed on Trihorn. "Who is this?"

"This is HN-3333. He will be under your command." Brendol said before looking at Trihorn. "33, this is Lieutenant Armitage Hux. His orders will override your own and everyone else's, is that clear boy?"

"Yes, sir." Trihorn nodded.

"Good. I'll leave you two to get acquainted." Brendol glanced at Armitage before leaving the room.

Trihorn watched as the door closed before he shook himself out of his stare and looked at the other Hux who was studying him. Despite being younger, Trihorn was slightly taller than Armitage who harrumphed and walked back to his seat. Trihorn rolled his eyes at the arrogance the other boy was showing and if the both of them were going to work together, he wanted to get to know him.

First rule of making friends, be yourself.

"So... What are you doing?" Trihorn asked, his voice nurtured so as to not be annoying.

"None of your business." Armitage hissed.

 _'First sign of hostility. Checked.'_

"I'm afraid it is if we are to work together." Trihorn retorted, taking a seat beside Armitage.

The red-haired boy sighed exasperatedly, his eyes directed at the ceiling before he looked at the blue haired boy unamused. "Who said anything about working together? If I recall correctly, you are to take orders from me."

"Now where's the fun in that?" Trihorn questioned, moving closer when Armitage moved away. "Having a superior relationship is nice and all but having friends makes it better."

"I don't need friends." Armitage growled.

Rule number two of making friends, get personal.

"Are you sure? You seem pretty lonely and I know that feeling believe me." Trihorn chuckled, seeing a wall break behind the older boy's eyes. "No one in my squad trusts me because I'm much younger than them."

"What about those your age?" Armitage queried with hesitance, tilting his head slightly.

 _'That's it. Ask questions.'_

"Oh, they never live long. I move up faster than they ever could." Trihorn smiled slightly but that only left the other boy confused.

"Why are you smiling then?"

"Because, I get to move on to make bigger, better friends than they ever could be. I can make friends with you because of your relations with your father." As soon as he said that, Armitage moved back and Trihorn quickly corrected. "I'm not using you."

"How would I know that?"

"I have no use to betray you. I have nowhere to go thus, it would be of no good for me when I'm always on the run." Trihorn replied, the same smile on his face and his persistence paid off because Armitage smiled back.

"Do you have a name?" Armitage asked.

"It's Trihorn."

"Nice to meet you." Armitage held a hand out and Trihorn looked at it in surprise before returning the gesture.

"Nice to meet you too."

 _'Success~.'_ Trihorn cheered in his mind before the both of them turned their heads to the door when it opened.

A female officer with a white uniform and a bun raised an eyebrow at Trihorn. "Who is this?"

"This is Trihorn, my... Friend." Armitage said before Trihorn could reply.

The officer was impressed by this as she raised an eyebrow, "Well then, Trihorn. I am Admiral Rae Sloane and you may return back to your quarters."

"I'm afraid I don't listen to you, sir. I listen to Lieutenant Hux." Trihorn replied, looking at the red-haired boy.

Hux gave another smile before he sat upright, "You may return back to your quarters, Cadet."

"Yes, sir." Trihorn saluted, standing up before walking out of the room confidently.

He stopped though when the female officer placed a hand on his shoulder, "After your training tomorrow, meet me in my office."

"Yes, sir." Trihorn nodded then continued walking back to his quarters.

When he arrived, he felt his confidence falter at the sight of the other big boys. He definitely felt like he didn't belong here at all. Either that or the fact that he was among ex-Imperials who were giving off a vibe that they were competitive, more so than the newer generation. Without looking at them, he still walked confidently towards his bed and fell asleep the instant his head hit his pillow. He was woken up early morning at the sound of the alarm, signalling everyone to get up. He let out a sigh but diligently got up, much earlier than the others who only five minutes later at Brendol screaming in their ears.

By that time, Trihorn was on his way out of the room and into the classroom. When he arrived, he was the only one inside so he took the front seat despite wanting to take the back. The commanding officer, named Major Locke, looked at Trihorn with a smile before putting a little something on his desk. After taking out his holopad, Trihorn took the gift with a smile on his face. It was a sweet, one that they rarely managed to procure due to their isolation with civilization.

"Thank you, sir." Trihorn said.

"Don't mention it. All of my superiors are proud of me for teaching you." Locke replied. "Speaking of which, today we have a special guest."

"Oh? Who is it? If I may ask, sir?" Trihorn added the last sentence when he realized he was touching private information of sorts.

"He is the General's son." Locke answered before standing up from his seat when the others joined them. "Welcome gentlemen, late by point two seconds."

"17 had to take a dump." 12 said, pointing at the accused.

"Hey! You gave me that spicy salsa yesterday!" 17 pushed 12 causing the two to put their foreheads together while glaring into each other's eyes but Locke cleared his throat.

"Gentlemen, do you want to go to detention?" He questioned causing the two men to take their seat, far from each other. "Today, we have a special guest."

As soon as he said that, all eyes went to the door when it opened to see Brendol walking in with powerful strides. Armitage followed behind and the boy wasn't as confident as his father while walking into the room but he hid it well. Trihorn darted his eyes towards 12, the oldest in the class and he could see a hint of mischief behind those set of brown eyes. It was the kind that said he had a not-so-good idea behind them. He looked back at the two Huxes who had stopped in front of Locke.

"Greetings, sir." Locke saluted.

"At ease." Brendol nodded towards Locke before looking at Armitage. "I leave him in your care and will fetch him later."

"Yes, sir." Locke said, avoiding eye contact with Brendol and Trihorn took note of that.

 _'Don't look at your superiors in the eye.'_ He thought and looked at the floor, lowering his head in respect when Brendol glanced at him.

Once the General left the room, the tension in the air ceased and the younger Hux took his seat beside Trihorn. They glanced at each other before focusing on the lesson being taught. Trihorn, however, managed to connect his holopad with Armitage, something he had been playing around with since he was younger. With the successful connection, he sent a message and knew that Armitage received it due to his slightly surprised look.

{Hello sir. It's Trihorn.} Armitage glanced at Trihorn who returned the gesture then looked at the screen.

{How did you do this?} He questioned.

{I tinkered with my holopad on the day I received it. Had to replace it after it kept breaking.}

"Now class, download the worksheet from this code and by the time I return, you should have completed it." Locke pointed at the code on the screen and all the students typed it on their holopads, causing an instant download. "In the meantime, I have to use the washroom."

Locke then left the room and when the door clicked, a sense of dread washed over Trihorn. While working on the worksheet, he glanced at 12 who had stood up to walk over to 17. He narrowed his eyes when the two teens conversed about something before he looked back at his worksheet. The class started getting rowdy so Trihorn made sure to keep his ears open to listen to Locke's return. He looked at Armitage who was busy with the worksheet before his view was blocked by 12, standing in between him and Armitage.

"Hi, I'm HN-3312 but my friends call me Jock." 12 or Jock, held out his hand for Armitage to shake.

{Oh boy.} The younger Hux messaged and Trihorn managed not to smile at the remark.

Oh, he knew how annoying these teens could be.

"Is there a reason for disturbing me, HN-3312?" Armitage queried, not bothering to shake the other teen's hand nor looking up from his work.

"Uhm," Jock was slightly taken back by the audacity of the younger Hux despite being surrounded. "I- I just wanted to greet you."

"Now that you have, return back to your seat." Armitage hissed and Trihorn saw Jock clench his fists.

 _'Uh oh. First sign of hostility. Checked.'_

"Gentlemen, do you mind?" He spoke up, trying to delay the incoming fight. "Some of us want to do our work."

"Shut it, 33." Jock glared and growled at Trihorn who winced.

"You wound me, old friend." He said mockingly, hearing Locke's footsteps echoing outside the hall.

"We were never friends. Now keep quiet, nerd before I make you do so." Jock said before grabbing Armitage by the collar and lifted the young boy from his chair.

"Let me go!" Armitage struggled against his grip, eyes darting towards Trihorn, pleading for help.

 _'Blast.'_ Trihorn thought bitterly, standing up from his chair.

"Hey! Let him go, Jock!" Trihorn pulled the teen's arm before receiving a powerful back-hand causing him to roll over his table and land on the floor, his back hitting the leg of the other table.

"Stay down!" Jock growled at Trihorn before looking at Armitage. "Listen here, brat."

Trihorn spat a bit of blood on the ground before he shook his head. "This is not how I wanted my morning to go."

He punched his right fist on the ground, pushing himself up and quickly scanned his surroundings. He could hear Locke's footsteps outside the door so he ran at Jock who was still holding Armitage in his hands. With his right hand supported on the table, Trihorn lifted both of his legs and kicked Jock's left temple causing the teen to drop Armitage and stumble to the side. Trihorn managed to stick the landing in front of Armitage and stood protectively. Jock was about to return with a punch when the door opened.

"What is going on here?!" Locke questioned.

"He kicked me!" Jock pointed at Trihorn accusingly and the blue haired boy only pushed down the teen's hand unamused.

"Is that true?" Locke asked Trihorn who nodded. "It's detention room for the both of you."

"He was protecting me, Major." Armitage said after coming out of his initial surprise.

"I'm sorry sir but any infighting is to be reported to high command. Your father ordered it so." Locke apologized causing the younger Hux to frown.

"Father?" 17 queried before he started murmuring among his little group.

"Then I will speak to him." Armitage said determinedly but Trihorn placed a hand on his shoulder.

"That's not necessary, sir. I will go through with my punishment as per normal." He said.

"No, I won't allow that."

"I'm already going. Think of it as a… Learning experience." Trihorn saluted before walking out of the room, Jock following in tow.

Halfway to the detention room, Trihorn was surprised by Jock asking, "Is he the General's son?"

"Yes." Trihorn nodded after recovering from his initial shock. "Yes, he is."

"He looks different from the General though. Not how I expected the General's son to be."

"It happens." Trihorn shrugged holding his hand out for the other to shake.

"Don't even think about it." Jock hissed. "Just because I asked a question, doesn't mean I'm getting personal."

"Of course." Trihorn retreated his hand, slightly embarrassed but pushed that thought away when they arrived at the detention room.

Trihorn was the first to enter and was surprised to see the female officer from yesterday, Admiral Sloane. "Sir?"

"General Hux is currently busy with something else. I will be taking over detention for now. Is that a problem?" She said, cutting off any questions.

"No, sir." Trihorn said, standing up straighter while Sloane walked around her desk, a holopad in her hands.

"Your first punishment hm…" Sloane looked at the two boys, standing at attention in front of her. "I do believe I have the perfect job. Follow me."

Trihorn looked at Jock who returned the glance before they both followed Sloane to what seemed to be an abandoned hallway. The abandoned hallway led to an abandoned hangar and as soon as the lights turned on, Trihorn's jaw dropped at the sight of all the rows of TIEs decommissioned. Most of the TIEs were badly damaged while some of them were in pristine condition… All of them were dusty and dirty which caused the two boys to look at Sloane expectantly.

"You boys will be spending some time cleaning and repairing one TIE after the other for the next month. If I see even a speck of dust on a TIE, it will be expanded by another month. Is that clear?" Trihorn and Jock gave a nod so she continued. "You will report here every day after your training so do not be late."

Then, she left the two boys alone. Trihorn noticed Jock glaring at him accusingly and he just let out a shrug before fishing out a bucket and a rag from the nearby store room. He filled the bucket with water before walking towards the first TIE, narrowly missing Jock's attempt to empty the bucket. He got to work on the bottom wing of the TIE, Jock doing the opposite side of his.

"Up for a conversation?" Trihorn asked, dipping the dirty rag into the water bucket to clean it.

"No." Jock replied, grumbling internally while rubbing off some grime.

"Doing it anyways." Trihorn chuckled. "So, you're an ex-Imperial?"

No answer.

"Well, if you're not going to talk, I'm going to keep annoying you. You were conscripted? Parents didn't like you enough or doing it for money?" Trihorn continued.

"None of your business." Jock growled.

"You nearly broke my spine. Therefore, it's only fair I return the favor. Ever fly a TIE before?" Jock raised an eyebrow while taking a peek at Trihorn who had climbed inside the TIEs cockpit. "How do I start it?"

The older boy jumped back when the TIE lifted itself off the ground causing him to shout, "Careful! These TIEs haven't flown in years!"

"Ten years to be exact!" Trihorn laughed, messing with the controls. "Open the hangar doors! This baby needs to be tested!"

"Are you insane?! If you get seen-."

"Don't we need to test this?! If it works, I'm staying to clean all this shit up!"

"Tri! Shut it down!" Jock yelled.

"No!" Trihorn shouted back, messing with the controls. "What's the fire button?"

"Tri..."

"Hold! I think I found it." Trihorn hovered his finger on the trigger.

"Tri!"

"What?!" Trihorn looked at Jock who was pointing towards the door so he looked in that direction.

He felt his mouth open slightly in surprise before his finger slipped, pressing the trigger. The hangar door was shot open and in his panic, Trihorn cut off the engines causing the TIE to slam back to the ground, luckily not hitting anyone. He got out through the hatch, coughing due to the dust before standing beside Jock, head low. Standing in front of him was General Hux and slightly behind Brendol was Armitage.

Despite being scolded, he kept a smile the whole time.


	3. Chapter 2

**The Young Hux**

"What were the both of you thinking, exactly?" Brendol hissed at Trihorn and Jock.

Armitage watched as Trihorn kept the same smile on his face, like a boy having found the perfect present. "We were to test the TIEs, sir. It was to make sure that they were in working condition."

"Who told you that?" Brendol asked confusedly while Trihorn looked at the General, his face no longer holding that smile.

"Admiral Sloane did, sir. She told us to clean the TIEs and repair it. How are we to know if it works when we don't test it?" Trihorn retorted and Armitage looked at his father after the back talk.

Brendol however, only smiled though it was slight. "Watch it, boy. For the dangers that you might have put all of us in, your punishment will be extended to six months. Come Armitage, we still have work to do."

"I would like to have a word with them, father." Armitage said, glancing at Trihorn before looking back at Brendol who frowned.

"Very well but don't take too long." His father replied, walking away allowing Armitage to look back at Trihorn.

Jock had left the two alone to continue the work so their talk was mostly private. Trihorn's gleeful look had returned when Brendol walked away so the younger Hux looked at the TIE Trihorn had driven.

"Spit it out." He ordered.

"I want to test them." Trihorn said, impatiently jumping on the spot and it was getting on Armitage's nerves.

"The General says no and what makes you think I can even let you take them out?"

"Because, you are our future." Trihorn smiled while Armitage tilted his head slightly. "If I can study these TIEs, I can make a blueprint for a better one. We do need to improve on our equipment, do we not?"

"You're not a qualified engineer." Hux replied.

"You don't have to be one to make a blueprint." Trihorn deadpanned before the same smile was shown. "I can do a draft and our engineers can improve on it. After all, I've always wanted to study one of these when I first saw them. It gets even better when I have six months to keep my hands on these babies!"

"Trihorn! Help me clean this thing!" Jock growled from the distance.

"Coming!" Trihorn shouted back before looking at the TIE. "It's calling my name, Armitage. It's asking for me to study it and make a newer, better one."

 _'This could work. If he can create a TIE that outshines the others that the incompetent Engineers are currently doing, we might have the perfect man for the future.'_ Armitage thought bitterly of the current engineers.

They were once Engineers from the Empire which was why they were commissioned in the first place. The only problem was that their old minds couldn't come up with new ones despite it being so simple. Thus, high command has been trying to find newer engineers to come up with a better plan but so far, their search hasn't been fruitful.

The young Hux let out a sigh after weighing his options and opened the hangar doors despite there being a hole, "Fine, just don't get me in trouble."

"I promise." Trihorn nodded, putting a hand out to seal the deal so Armitage shook it.

Then, he left the room to join his father who had been waiting. They heard the TIE starting up and although Brendol had a frown on his face, he didn't say anything. Armitage took that as a sign that he will tolerate the turn of events. While walking down the hall, the younger Hux realized that they were not heading in the direction of Brendol's office or even the meeting room.

"Father, where are we going?" He asked and Brendol glanced at the younger Hux.

"We are going on a hunt. There have been recent reports of a girl outside the wall. She is believed to be the sole survivor of the Mandalorian vessel that crashed two days ago." Brendol said and Armitage nodded, remembering said reports.

The thing was, they never fired on the vessel because their current base of operations on the planet didn't have a single turret. The vessel exited out of hyperspace being terribly damaged and the last transmission that was sent out was by a girl, seeking for help. Scans indicated that there were others aboard the vessel, presumably her family but that was never confirmed as they were unable to recognize anyone in the wreckage.

"Sir." A Lieutenant walked up to the General, saluting to show respect. "The girl was last seen in sector A412."

"She's staying in the forest. No doubt her training is in effect." Brendol muttered, "Has the scouts been able to find her temporary base?"

"No, sir. She is constantly on the move and always two steps ahead of us." He replied.

"Noted." Brendol nodded to the Lieutenant before he knelt down in front of Armitage. "Do not leave my side, Armitage. The forest is still a dangerous place to all of us for we have not fully explored it yet."

"Yes, father." Armitage nodded before following Brendol to the wall where a squad of troopers formed up behind them.

Looking at the forest, Armitage was frightened by the darkness but made sure not to show it on the outside for it will not do good for him. He kept looking around, hearing the inhabitants of the forest wailing or howling but couldn't actually see those creatures. They stopped at what seemed to be an abandoned camp and he noticed that the fire still looked fresh. Brendol knelt down and used two fingers to feel the ashes before looking at the troopers.

"Spread out. She is close-by." He ordered.

The troopers moved out, turning on their flashlight attachment on their blasters while Armitage was given a smaller blaster from his father. He holstered it first for there was no use for it yet and followed Brendol who started walking deeper into the woods. Armitage glanced behind him when he felt someone staring but found no one which only creeped him out even more. His eyes went wide when a gurgling sound was heard nearby and that was when he realized that he lost sight of his father.

"Father?" He questioned while taking out his blaster.

He scanned his surroundings before something jumped out of the bushes in front of him with a roar. He immediately shot at the creature that was a mix between a raptor and a crocodile before running when more of those creatures showed up. He didn't bother shooting behind him and jumped over a fallen log before one of those creatures managed to grab his ankle from below, causing him to hit his head on the ground. He grunted at the pain and tried to grab his blaster again until he was forcefully turned on his back.

The creature that had grabbed him was pushed by another one of his teammates before another one fought for the kill. Armitage used the opening to try and grab the blaster again but he was just out of reach. The creatures, however, had decided who would do the killing blow and Armitage covered his face with his hands, in hopes that he could survive this. He was saved by the girl though, who had used a vine to swing from a tree and kicked the creatures to the side.

Then, she held out a hand towards Armitage who took it before he grabbed his blaster and they started running for it although he had to limp. It got to the point where he couldn't run anymore so he shot at one of the creatures, only infuriating the other two even more but at this point, he didn't care. The girl though had a different idea as she lowered his blaster and pointed upwards, telling him to climb. At first, he didn't want to but after missing two shots, he forced himself to climb with his injury and the creature tried to leap for his ankle again, only to miss.

The young Hux rested his back on the tree, tears flowing from the immense pain in his ankle while the two creatures tried to leap for them. Even though they were safe, he noticed that the girl was restless, jumping from branch to branch, as if she was expecting something or someone. Blaster fire caused him to look at the source to see two troopers, walking in their direction while firing at the creatures. One of the creatures was hit causing the other to charge at the troopers, managing to kill one with a powerful bite to the head. Armitage winced at the clear sound of his helmet and skull breaking before the other trooper killed the creature.

"Sir!" The trooper noticed him on the tree branch. "Are you alright?!"

"What do you think?!" Armitage snapped, not enjoying looking weak before he looked at the girl only to find her missing.

Frowning, he looked around to see if he could spot her but from the look of it, the girl was long gone. Slowly, he climbed down from the tree and nearly fell on his back when he landed. He let out a hiss while balancing himself by slowly putting pressure on his injured leg, lifting it every once in a while, if it got too painful. The trooper had contacted the others, including the General about his location while they walked back towards the camp.

"Armitage!" Brendol yelled causing him to jump. "I told you to stay close to me!"

"I did!" Armitage said.

"If you did, then why are you injured now?" Brendol replied curtly and Armitage tried to come up with a reason before he decided to use something else.

"I saw the girl." He said and that caught his father's attention. "She saved me from those creatures."

"What did she look like?" Brendol questioned and Armitage thought back to the girl.

"She wore a Mandalorian helmet… There was a symbol. A triangle with a drop of blood cutting through the middle." Armitage recalled, focusing back into the present to see his father with a frown on his face.

His hold on Armitage's shoulder tightened, "You are not to leave your quarters until you have recovered, is that clear?"

"Yes, father."

##

For the next six months, Armitage stayed in his quarters with his injured ankle. Every night, he would hear blaster fire outside the walls which would cause him to walk to his window and watch it all go down. His room was on the fourth floor with a window that oversaw the courtyard. Beyond that courtyard was the wall and beyond the wall was the forest. He would see the red lights of the plasma energy being fired from the trooper's blasters along with cries of the same creature that had attacked him in the forest.

He didn't know why they were attacking but it had definitely been a non-stop attack.

He also had his lesson in his quarters. When he wasn't being taught about politics or battle strategies, he would spend time researching about Mandalorians or more specifically, the symbol. So far, all he had pertain it to was one of the houses of Mandalore. While House Vizsla had a bird as their representation, House Piro had the exact symbol that was portrayed on the girl's helmet. However, the young Hux frowned as there wasn't much information about the House other than the fact that they were all presumed dead…

"Hey Taj." Trihorn greeted, breaking the silence and surprising Armitage with his appearance.

"Tri, do you mind knocking next time?" He queried before frowning again. "And did you just call me Taj?"

"Yep, it's your nickname now unless you want to be called redhead." Trihorn smirked before looking at the holopad in Armitage's hand. "Are you researching about Mandalore?"

"Yes, I am." Armitage replied, raising an eyebrow slightly. "You know something?"

"The girl is from House Piro."

"That much I know of." Armitage mumbled before looking back up at Trihorn who shook his head.

"I'm not finished. House Piro is one of the oldest and rarest house in Mandalore. Those born in that house are vicious but very loyal which was why most of them became Duchess Satine's royal guards. Although, they were killed along with the Duchess but one of them survived. I suppose he managed to recreate if we're seeing one now." Trihorn hummed in thought at the end while Armitage looked at the picture of the symbol in the holopad.

"So, why are they all presumed dead?" He asked.

"No idea. There could have been another Mandalorian civil war or they were chased out by the New Republic. I couldn't find any information about it." Trihorn shrugged.

"Wait, how do you know all of this?" Armitage questioned, raising an eyebrow at Trihorn's sheepish grin.

"I may have hacked into the New Republic network. They may or may not have tracked us here."

"WHAT?!"

"I'm kidding! I'm joking really." Trihorn chuckled at Armitage's furious look. "I took every precaution to make sure they won't track my search. I'm an expert, Taj."

"Stop calling me that." Armitage said while going into thought. "So, she's the last member of House Piro. When are they trained to become Royal Guards?"

"Since birth." Trihorn replied.

"And she's loyal?"

"Very much so if you can persuade her." Trihorn nodded before a smile formed on his face. "You're going to invite her here, aren't you?"

"Yes. She will be a very valuable asset in the First Order." Armitage agreed, a smile forming as he thought of the girl's dedication to the order... Her loyalty to him. "Are you still doing detention?"

"What does that have to do with this?" Trihorn queried and Armitage gave a smirk.

"I need a view."

##

"I can't see a thing."

The two boys were currently in one of the TIEs, flying low enough so that they could see the ground but not hit the trees. It was a risky manoeuvre as one twitch of the controls and they will be sent tumbling on the ground. They had started from where the girl was last seen which was, for some strange reason, a month ago. They started to fear that the girl might be dead but after flying around for fifteen minutes, they saw a recently abandoned camp. It caused them to extend their search until it had reached nightfall.

"Isn't there a light for TIEs?" Armitage asked, looking over the controls.

"Supposedly but I haven't found the switch for it. I'm too scared to do so now because one wrong switch and we're goners." Trihorn replied.

"Do you think you can land this thing somewhere safe? We can continue the search tomorrow morning." Armitage yawned before shaking his head to clear the drowsiness away.

"Uhm, alright." Trihorn responded, his voice tired as well so he searched for an open space and found one.

Armitage noticed that the space wasn't that big. In fact, it looked like if his hand shook too much, he would hit the trees and damage the TIE. However, he had been too tired to voice it out and without even noticing, Trihorn had landed the TIE perfectly, managing to scrape the trees only.

"Are we sleeping outside or in here?" Trihorn asked because the space of the TIE wasn't that big and it would mean that one of them would have to stay awake if they chose the TIE.

"I'm afraid you will have to take the first watch. I will be sleeping in here." Armitage said and Trihorn was about to protest but then he pouted and climbed out of the hatch.

Armitage gave a smirk and was about to lie down when he caught a glimpse of a silhouette among the trees in front of them. He immediately climbed out, nearly causing Trihorn to fall the tall distance between the TIE and the ground.

"Kriff!" Trihorn shouted, holding onto the TIE tightly. "Can you not do that?"

"Look!" Armitage pointed at the still form and Trihorn looked in that direction as well.

Trihorn's eyes were narrowed at first before it turned into surprise when he saw the girl. She had a slim build and was definitely quite tall, taller than Trihorn in fact. He could tell that she was actually really strong despite her skinny look.

"Hello?" Trihorn said, being the talkative one of the two and she responded by tilting her head.

"She looks like an animal." Armitage mumbled, narrowing his eyes slightly because compared to what he saw earlier on, she was acting way differently.

"Can you talk?" Trihorn asked and the girl nodded her head. "Then, why are you not talking?"

She pointed behind them so the two boys turned to look rather curiously to see four large set of eyes staring back at them. Armitage gulped when the moonlight shined brighter, managing to pass through the thick canopy showing the creature being a dragon with a feathery set of wings even though it was clearly scaly. The dragon was as large as the TIE they were on and the both of them knew they could not outrun it.

"What do we do?" Trihorn whisper asked, holding his breath when all four sets of eyes turned to him.

Armitage turned his head to look at the girl and saw her motion for them to follow, "On the count of three, jump to the branch behind us."

"One." Trihorn started before the both of them looked at each other.

"Three!" Armitage yelled when the creature reeled back, ready to take a bite.

The both of them leapt to the nearest branch while the dragon struck down the TIE they were on. Armitage grunted as his ankle had not fully recovered which meant that he didn't make the jump and was forced to hold on. Trihorn held out a hand towards him which he took before the branch decided to break under their combined weight. There was a short yelp before they fell onto the leaf-covered ground, Armitage landing on his back while Trihorn landed on his face. Armitage groaned while sitting up before he moved back when the dragon let out a roar and climbed over the TIE wreckage, the fire warming its underbelly.

It tried to bite the two boys before the girl jumped from the branch above them and landed on the dragon's snout causing its head to hit the ground. She jumped off and grabbed their hands, prompting them to run while the dragon recoiled, rubbing its snout with its clawed feet. Armitage looked at Trihorn who returned the glance, eyes showing that he trusted the girl despite not knowing who she was. Armitage narrowed his eyes when they arrived at what seemed to be a tree house which got him thinking.

How deep were they in the woods?

They would have to be very deep if the scouts have not seen this tree house. It was large and blatant which only caused him to wonder why the girl was running here when they were being chased by a dragon. He decided to stop and turn around once they were under the tree house to see the dragon running at them full speed, feathery wings locked tight by its side while its mouth was opened as it was preparing to breath fire. Armitage looked back at the girl when she held his shoulder while Trihorn was slightly behind her.

"We have to keep running!" The young Hux said but she only shook her head and pointed at the tree.

He looked at said tree to see the leaves glowing red, then the ground turning black with purple flowers coming out of the ground. He looked back at the dragon to see it breath fire and on instinct, used his hands to cover his face but something magical happened. When the fire reached the edge of the purple flowers, it was as if there was wind, pushing the fire back which left them unharmed. The dragon growled and tried to step into the sea of flowers before it let out a yelp and leapt to the sky, opting to go back to its den instead. Armitage felt his mouth open slightly before he closed it and turned his head to the girl who was climbing the ladder to the tree house. The tree was no longer glowing red and everything had gone back to normal.

"Huh, the force does exist." Trihorn muttered and Armitage glared at him.

"It surely does not." He retorted while staring at the darkness of the forest.

"Then, how do you explain that?" The blue-haired boy questioned, pointing at the purple flowers that slowly retreated into the ground.

"The tree being the main cause. It's probably a special tree." Armitage explained, albeit proud before he started climbing the ladder. "We need to get back to base before they notice us gone."

"Kind of hard in our current situation, isn't it?" Trihorn replied, climbing just below the red head. "Also, didn't you say we would continue our search in the morning which meant that you weren't going to return back to base tonight?"

Armitage stayed quiet for a moment before he replied, "Well, we had a TIE back then and I could just say you got lost."

"Real mature." Trihorn deadpanned and Armitage just looked at him with one raised eyebrow.

"We haven't even reached teenage years yet." Hux reminded and the other boy let out a chuckle.

"No, we have not but so far, I feel like I'm more mature than the ex-Imperials." He smiled, looking up and Armitage followed his gaze to see the night sky.

He was in awe at the number of stars in the sky and swore he heard someone chuckle that was not Trihorn. He forced himself not to check because this was something he couldn't experience while back at base. Here, there were no other sources of light to disturb the serene look of the starry sky. He even saw a shooting star and being the little child, he immediately closed his eyes to make a wish. When he reopened them, he looked at Trihorn to see that he had done the exact same thing. Then, they looked at the girl but she was still wearing her helmet which made it impossible to tell if she had made a wish as well.

Although they still had questions.

"Now that we are finally out of danger." Armitage started since Trihorn was studying her. "What is your name?"

The girl continued staying quiet and unmoving before she finally spoke for the first time, her voice surprisingly sweet. "Lynx Piro."

"And you are the only survivor of the crash?" Trihorn asked seeing as Armitage was slightly stunned by the revelation of her voice.

"Yes." There were no emotions in the reply causing the two boys to glance at each other.

"What happened?" Armitage asked and Lynx gave a shrug.

"The others declared war on us. It's a Mandalorian thing." She replied nonchalantly.

"Declaring war on- Wait a minute. There must be more than that." Trihorn frowned and Armitage knew that he had caught onto something. "Mandalore has suffered way more civil wars than it needs to be. What really happened?"

"That is for me to know and for you to find out." Lynx hissed, running out of the tree house and jumped to the next tree branch. "I may have saved your life but that doesn't mean you get the privilege to know me at a personal level."

"Wait, where are you going?!" Armitage asked as she was going further away from the tree.

"This tree will keep you safe. I need to hunt."

And just like that, she left the two boys alone.


	4. Chapter 3

**The Survivor**

Stay hidden.

It was the first thing her father taught her when she reached five years old. Right now, she saw a pack of those creatures that attacked the red head six months ago. She narrowed her eyes when they sniffed the air and looked hungrily in the direction of the tree. However, they turned away when the pack leader let out a call, similar to that of a velociraptor. Then, they started running in the opposite direction causing her to sigh in relief. She was slightly worried about that but for now, all she wanted to do was find food.

Technically, they weren't that far deep within the forest. Lynx had just been watching enough of their patrol routes to have memorized them and avoided being seen ever since. It gets even better when she was able to enter the base and leave whenever she wants due to the fact that patrol routes were not fully established with the very few troopers that still existed ever since the final battle. The new breed of stormtroopers had yet to be put to work but otherwise, the base was still exposed.

Lynx quickly entered the vent in one swift motion and started crawling slowly. She preferred hunting during the daylight because there would be less patrols but right now, she had an extra two mouths to feed. Honestly, she could just let them starve and send them home the morning but that would just be cruel. She was the only one in her family with this weakness which didn't come from either of her parents. While her father told her to leave them and escape, she wouldn't do so and stayed to help.

With the boys, she supposed it was her need for social interaction.

She had been living alone for six months so it was expected that she wanted some company. The tree was a great protector but it couldn't talk. It couldn't satisfy her need for company which is why she kept coming back to the base. She would watch them at a distance, especially Armitage whom she noticed would keep looking at his holopad, frowning or shaking his head at something. She would tilt her head at that because she couldn't see what the boy was reading.

"One of the TIEs is missing." Lynx stopped, just before a vent cover and looked below to see one man, one woman and… An alien conversing with each other.

"HN-3333 is gone as well. No doubt he took the TIE with him but what would he want with Armitage?" The woman asked, her graying hair locked up in a bun.

"Unless, Armitage asked him to assist with something…" The man muttered before they looked at the alien who had his eyes narrowed.

"If they are lost out in the forest, they are in grave danger." The alien said, exchanging glances between the two humans. "Those creatures left a scent on him that cannot be rubbed off."

"Then, we must send a search party quickly."

"That is unnecessary." The alien continued and Lynx decided to move on, crawling over the vent cover until it suddenly opened.

She let out a surprised yelp and landed on the table, in the middle of the three adults. She managed to recover in time to jump over the man's grab and leapt back into the vents, crawling as fast as she could before someone grabbed her ankles. She kicked the hand, earning a surprised cry before she continued crawling and ignored the alarms blaring overhead. Instead of exiting the same way she did, she went a different way and entered the kitchen.

After glancing around, she grabbed a few packets of food and bolted down the hall. Lock down in the facility activated a little too late allowing her to roll under the wall before it shut tight behind her. When she got up, she looked to her right to see several troopers aiming at her and the light from the tower, shining in her direction. There was another thing her father taught while she was being chased.

Stick to the shadows.

Outrunning the troopers would be easy but the light well…. That depends on how good the mechanics were. So, she planned her moves while running out in the open space. She managed to avoid the light searching for her in the open while the troopers tried to run after her, some firing their stun blasters but missing terribly. Then, Lynx looked at the wall, the gears in her mind working for the smoothest way out which she managed to find. She ran up the steps and halfway through, jumped backwards while turning her body to face the wall. She found a perfect grip on the edge and climbed up before vaulting over the metal half slab, landing with a roll on the leaf covered ground. Suddenly, she heard barking to her right so she looked in that direction to see…

Dogs.

 _'Where did they get them?'_ She asked herself because the last time she checked… There were no dogs in this forest.

Unless, they were traded in by someone which would be just perfect for her luck.

 _'Focus!'_ She scolded herself while running away from the creatures.

These dogs won't go away even when she manages to get out of their line of sight. Their keen scent can track her for miles and it was a wonder why they haven't found the two boys yet. Just then, she got the idea. It was an honestly crazy idea but it was one nonetheless. They were afraid of losing the dogs to the pack of those fast creatures. If she could find the pack again, she could get these dogs out of the way. The only question was, where was the pack?

Racking her brain for the third time, she remembered that the pack leader did a call. Judging by the sound, she should be able to imitate it as long as she can find a safe place to do so. With that in mind, she climbed the tree beside her, resting on the nearest branch to catch her breath before doing the call. She hoped that none of the humans came because these forest creatures were deadly. After about a minute of waiting, the same Garaptors – she called it that – leapt out of the nearby bushes, claws outstretched and jaws wide open to chomp down on one of the dogs.

The other dogs barked and tried to attack but more of those creatures surrounded them and started leaping, killing them. Lynx saw one of the dogs escape, whimpering back to the base so she quickly climbed higher before the Garaptors could go for her. These raptors were getting smarter with every passing day. She knew that sooner or later, they will be able to pass through the defenses the others had put up. A few days ago, one of the raptors managed to enter the compound before it was shot down by troopers.

When Lynx returned back to the tree, the two boys were already asleep which she was thankful for. She didn't want to continue answering their questions because she had no mood to talk about herself or the current predicament she was in. Her life wasn't that bad. Well, it wasn't until she crashed landed here but then again, she didn't like to focus on the bad aspects of her life. She keeps her past because that was who she was but she doesn't use that as an excuse for anything.

"You're back." Apparently, one of them was awake.

"Go back to sleep." She replied, dropping the packets of food on the makeshift table she made before jumping on the next branch.

"Wait!" Armitage called again and Lynx turned to face him. "How did you find us?"

"You landed your vessel at where I had chopped down trees. I was going to chop down more until you showed up." She explained and saw him loosen his shoulders.

"So, you didn't hear us coming?" Armitage queried and Lynx gave a scoff.

"I would be deaf if I didn't hear you blatantly flying around. Are you trying to search for me or are you warning me that you are searching for me?" She hissed causing him to frown.

"Then, why didn't you avoid us when we landed?"

"If I did, that dragon would have killed you. Your father would have destroyed this whole planet to avenge you and I would prefer that circumstance to not occur." She retorted, sitting down on the branch with her back resting on the tree bark.

"He wouldn't do that." Armitage said, sitting down on the edge of the platform, his legs dangling. "He doesn't even want me."

"Are you sure? From what I received just now, he wants you back terribly." She said.

"Let me guess, you snuck into the base to steal these packets of food?" He questioned, reaching for one of said packet of food.

"Yes. I didn't want to hunt tonight and seeing as the both of you will be hungry the next morning, I decided to look for it in the base. It's very flawed, you know." She told him.

"We're not expecting any spies to show up." He spat, opening the packet. "We just needed a temporary base to store supplies."

"You picked the wrong planet. The creatures here don't take it too kindly to strangers."

"I gathered that very much from my five years of stay." He huffed, slightly irritated. "You couldn't have grabbed a better food?"

"Be thankful I didn't even grab the bad one." She smirked at his displeased look before the both of them looked to the skies when a song echoed in the forest.

Lynx immediately stood up, tilting her head slightly before she looked back at Armitage who asked, "What is it?"

"Shh." She put her index finger on her helmet above where her lips would be, signalling him to stay quiet before she jumped onto the tree platform. "It's time for you to go back."

The red head nodded despite feeling confused and went back in to wake Trihorn up. The boy gave a loud yawn, scratching the top of his head before following Armitage and climbed down the ladder. When they reached the bottom, Lynx landed in front of them gracefully, the leaf-covered ground breaking her fall. She escorted the two boys back to their base before stopping in the forest, a few centimeters away from the spotlight when she heard the barking of dogs.

"Why'd you stop?" Trihorn asked.

"This is where I leave you." She replied, turning around.

"But, we know where your home is. Is that not a concern?" Armitage queried and Lynx gave a smile behind her helmet but kept walking.

"You can tell them of my location or, you can stay quiet and come back whenever you feel like studying the creatures of the night."

##

Lynx didn't hear anything from the boys until two days later. She had been resting in her treehouse, watching a weird pig-like herbivore eating in the distance before the creatures started moving away. She took it as a sign of danger and climbed higher up into the tree, disappearing in the leaves. Her red and black Mandalorian armor blended in the darkness while she watched a whole squadron approaching the tree.

Leading the squadron was none other than the boy and she narrowed her eyes at him when he pointed at the tree. That same man that tried to grab her two days ago, Armitage's father, ordered the squadron to set up a perimeter and she knew she was trapped within the circle. The lucky thing was she had just eaten a hefty breakfast which was why she was resting in the first place. Otherwise, she would still be out searching in the dense forest which honestly, would have been a better situation than this.

Avoidance basically became her best friend for the past few months.

"Where is she, boy?" The man asked, his tone was threatening which caused Lynx to do a double take of the current situation.

"S- She should be around here..." Armitage murmured, looking around then at the tree. "I think she's out hunting."

Lynx darted her eyes to one of the troopers when her ears twitched. The trooper was going to die and she knew it because in the bushes, she could see the form of a Garaptor, lying in wait. She also knew that the raptor was after Armitage because of the invisible scent left by their saliva. With that in mind, she jumped down from the tree and tossed a grenade that she had packed on her belt, the leaves turning red the instant she did it. The grenade landed on top of the Garaptor, activating the second it made contact causing an explosion. The trooper had just been far enough and in the zone of the flowers to not die from said explosion.

"There!" The man pointed at her and every single trooper pointed their blasters but Lynx didn't move.

She only did when more of those Garaptor's showed up and started attacking the troopers. She ran into the treehouse, opening a closet that contained all of the weapons she had stolen from the base. Some of the weapons she had managed to salvage from the wreckage and one of them was a bow. She took the bow and stood at the edge of the platform, pulling it back to earn a perfect headshot on one of the raptors. Immediately, all raptors turned their heads towards her and they stopped moving. It took her a moment to realize that she had just killed the pack leader which was completely accidental.

The pack then started running towards tree, climbing it to get to Lynx but said tree did not take it too kindly. The whole tree bark turned red and the raptors quickly jumped off, running away from it. Lynx then looked back at the remaining troopers who aimed at her so she started running, jumping from one branch to the other. She would duck her head every time a laser came too close for comfort and then she climbed higher when she arrived at her destination. She climbed all the way to the top of the tree, the lasers flying off everywhere but none came as close to her position... Other than one.

She felt it graze the left side of her helmet so she looked down to see a hole burnt through, exactly where the blaster was being pointed. The blaster was then lowered and she noticed that Armitage was the one holding it. She narrowed her eyes behind her helmet and started climbing back down, landing on the ground with her bow in hand. In just two moves, she changed the bow into a staff and stood at a ready position, her mind envisioning the near future.

She hated conflict but sometimes, it is just inevitable.

"Give yourself up and it will go much smoother." The man said, motioning for the trooper behind her to step forward.

Lynx turned her head to the right, looking at the trooper from the corner of her vision while she said, "Never give in, never surrender."

Just as the trooper took aim, Lynx did a backflip over said trooper and knocked him out with a blow to the head. Then, she moved to the next trooper who tried to fire but his blaster was knocked out of his hands before he was knocked on the head. Afterwards, Lynx twirled her staff blocking a few stun shots from the two troopers before making them fall unconscious. As a final move, she ran at Armitage and his father, dodging a shot from the older Hux's blaster before doing a front flip using a tree. She knocked out Brendol before kicking Armitage onto his back. Then, she leapt on him and held him down by pushing her staff on his neck. Armitage could only oppose it with a small push but it wasn't enough to push her off.

"Stop!" He cried, his eyes darting wildly to try and see Lynx's eyes behind the helmet.

"Give me a reason why I shouldn't." She hissed, putting more pressure causing him to grunt as he tried to push back.

"Because... Because he threatened to kill Trihorn!" He yelled back and continued when Lynx loosened her hold on him slightly. "He said that if I didn't comply, Trihorn will face a fate worse than death."

"Why do you care about him?" She queried, knowing that he had just given himself a weakness.

"He is to be my protector until I die. Other than that, he's made it a point to be friends with me and... I've counted him as one ever since." He explained, feeling terrified when she didn't move.

 _'Curse my one weakness...'_ Lynx thought bitterly while moving away.

She had to compromise it would seem.

"How will he be spared?" She asked while moving back, allowing Armitage to stand back up.

"With your capture… If we can make it convincing to them." He replied, looking at his father.

"I think I have an idea."

##

It took a while before the troopers and Brendol woke up from their nap. By then, Lynx and Armitage had been so bored, they started sparring. Lynx practicing in blocking his shots while Armitage was practicing his aim. The two didn't notice them being awake until Lynx was hit on the shoulder, giving a hiss from the pain before she looked at Brendol. Her initial thought was to run but she realized that she was surrounded so she raised her hands in surrender, dropping her staff to the ground. Brendol was surprised at this while the troopers aimed their blasters at her, cautious of the current turn of events.

"I surrender." Lynx said at their hesitance.

Brendol then looked at Armitage who nodded, moving forward with stasis cuffs. He cuffed Lynx's hands before a trooper took over and they started escorting her back to base. The whole way, neither of them talked and Lynx had to hold in the pain that was burning her shoulder. When they entered the base, all eyes turned on her before they continued with their duties and Lynx noted that there were more troopers on patrol compared to before. She looked at Armitage questioningly but he only glanced at her, keeping his focus straight forward.

They escorted her to a jail cell where she stayed for about two days. She would spend her time drawing on the wall with a chalk she had managed to ask from one of the troopers. To an outsider, her drawings were jumbled and random but to her eyes, it was her plan to get out of the cell. She had to get Trihorn out after all and being trapped in a cell can get you fidgety. When she wasn't drawing, she would do push ups, sit ups or run on the spot to keep her healthy lifestyle despite being in a cramped space.

At the start of the third day, four troopers entered her cell and cuffed her hands behind her back for safety as they were escorting her. After a while of walking, they shoved her in a dark room and closed the door behind her. She knew that there were probably two troopers outside, guarding the door like lap dogs. She huffed at that thought before looking around the room, taking in her dark surroundings. Her hands were still bounded to her back so she wasn't able to activate night vision which would be useful right now. She might be standing in a room with someone and she wouldn't even notice.

Suddenly, she felt buzzing in her mind and shook her head to try and clear it but that didn't work. She looked around frantically, her eyes narrowed while she tried to find the cause of the disturbance. She just knew that there was a force user here. She couldn't see him or her but they didn't have to be in the vicinity to pull their magic tricks. A wave of insecurity and danger rose up in her guts so she started ramming her shoulder on the door. Her mind was telling her one thing.

She had to get out.

It didn't matter how, she just had to get out.

Although, as soon as she rammed the door for the fifth time, the buzzing stopped. She didn't like it one bit and continued ramming, fear gripping her heart while sweat dripped from her forehead. She was panicking now which was something that rarely occurred in her life. At the tenth ram, she heard a voice outside, ordering the troopers to open the door and Lynx was prepared to make a run for it.

When the door opened, it was her time to move. She pushed the troopers aside before dashing down the hall, ignoring the calls for her name. She couldn't remember where to run but she avoided everyone that was after her. At the two-minute mark of running aimlessly, she finally caught whiff of the forest outside and followed the scent, finding the exit. As she was about to run through, she slid to a stop when Armitage blocked her way.

"Lynx, wait!"

"Move it!" She was slightly surprised at her dangerous tone but pushed that thought aside as her fear.

"Just calm down!" Armitage yelled. "You need to calm down."

Lynx only realized how ragged her breathing had been and how close she was to the boy that she took a step back. She was blushing but her helmet hid her emotions and her rigid stance that was ingrained since birth didn't betray her embarrassment.

"That's right… Just calm down." He continued and she noticed him glancing behind her, a little too late as a needle was poked into her neck, managing to pass through her armor.

She gave a hiss before crumpling to the ground, slowly closing her eyes shut. She was still conscious of everything around her though and heard more footsteps rushing to her side. She felt someone put two gloved fingers on her neck causing her to shiver involuntarily. They muttered something about her still being awake and felt another needle being poked into her arm. This time, she felt the chemicals moving in her bloodstream causing her to feel lightheaded but she still didn't fall unconscious. Even with her mind feeling so mellow, she could feel someone entering her mind, swimming through the balloons in her head before she was plunged into darkness.

 _'Sleep, little one.'_


	5. Chapter 4

**The Supreme Leader**

While Lynx had been in the dark room, Supreme Leader Snoke, General Hux and Admiral Sloane had been in a separate room beside it with a one-way window, looking at the girl. In fact, this was the same room that she had fallen into when she was sneaking around in the base. The three watched as Lynx scanned the room before she just stood there, doing nothing.

"Not what I expected." Brendol muttered, looking at Snoke who hummed.

"And what did you expect, General?"

"I thought she would try and escape or something. It made no sense for her to just give up when she clearly has the upper hand." He replied, looking at the Admiral who stepped forward.

"She has a weakness. I assume it's not from any of her parents." She said, putting a hand on the glass before looking at Snoke. "Do you think you can find out?"

Snoke didn't need any second prompting as he was already penetrating her mind. The immediate change of behavior could be seen as her eyes were suddenly dilated and wild like a prey searching for its predator. Snoke managed to latch onto one memory and saw a much younger Lynx, crying in fear while a dark Jedi stood over her. His green lightsaber glowing brightly before a Mandalorian, presumably her father, managed to kick the Jedi back and take the young child to safety. Then, Snoke saw another memory, this time of her lying in a bacta tank with the readings at its peak.

"We need to calm her down." He said, retreating from her mind and going back into the present.

By now, Lynx was more than terrified and kept slamming the door. Snoke sent one look at Brendol and the man swiftly exited the room to deal with the situation as quickly as possible. Afterwards, Snoke glanced at Sloane before looking back at Lynx, studying how she stopped and changed her stance. She knew they were preparing to open the door and was currently preparing herself to run out. It was something not many could do in their terrified state and she especially surprised them when she managed to knock down two troopers while exiting.

"She surely has some strength." Sloane commented.

"Indeed." Snoke replied, looking at the Admiral. "She will be a valuable asset if we can sway her to our side. We are in need of special children."

"Of course. What of the child you are currently monitoring?" She asked.

"He will be easy to manipulate. I already have one agent ready to assist in his upbringing."

"Did you tell her the reward of such a task?"

"She didn't care." He deadpanned before they arrived at the exit where Lynx had fallen to the ground.

"Sir, she's still conscious despite injecting two doses of thiopental." The doctor told him.

Snoke held his right hand out which he hovered in front of Lynx's face, entering her mind. He penetrated a sort of bubble that was surrounding her light-headed mind and managed to send her to sleep. Then, he nodded towards the troopers who gently carried her up and walked to the medbay. His eyes landed on the two Huxes in the distance before he walked back to his private office. He sat down behind his desk, contemplating on the glimpses of images that he received while swimming through Lynx's bubble of a mind.

There was an image of her standing on a podium with a number ten, printed on a red flag to her right. They were taking a pledge as their right hand was turned into a fist over their hearts and one Mandalorian was slowly raising their flag. It wouldn't seem like much with only seven people present for the occasion but Snoke could feel pride and joy flowing through the force from the image.

 _'Her rite of passage.'_

The next image was of a battle. She was wearing her Mandalorian armor and was shooting two blasters at a group of humans while hovering in the air, jetpack activated. The other party looked like a crime syndicate and they were all scrambling for their weapons.

 _'Her first mission.'_

It was all details of her past. A past that he wouldn't know the full story of unless he is able to get her to tell him. However, judging from her reactions earlier on, she has a terrible fear of force users which must be eradicated. It would not do good when they fight against the New Jedi Order. Unless of course, he gets the boy to destroy it...

"Sir." He was brought out of his thoughts by Brendol who had his hands clasped behind his back. "The girl is slowly recovering from her near-death experience."

"It is not the first time." Snoke muttered. "The girl must be monitored closely for I fear she is susceptible to extreme trauma."

"We should just waste her if that's the case."

"No!" Snoke suddenly yelled, surprising Brendol. "She is too valuable to waste. Her skills are unparallel and she will be important for the future of the Order."

"Yes, sir. Apologies for suggesting such an order." Brendol lowered his head slightly.

"Forgiven. Do you have a trooper who can watch over her until I find a way to heal her old wounds?" Snoke questioned and saw him nod.

"Yes, sir. I believe she is the perfect candidate."

"A she?" Snoke was slightly surprised as not many female troopers could meet their expectations.

Most of them became officers leaving only men to do the tough work. It was a rare occasion to see female troopers out on the battlefield, much less to find one in a squadron.

"She is the finest in her class, receiving an ace for all of her training." Brendol explained proudly causing Snoke to nod.

"Just like the Pilot." He said then asked, "Where is HN-3333?"

"Working on the TIEs, sir. Armitage said that the boy will be creating a new TIE blueprint since our current engineers are unable to do so." Brendol replied.

"Bring the blueprint to me once he has completed it." Snoke ordered and Brendol gave a salute before leaving the room.

Then, Sloane entered before Snoke had time to indulge in the images still clouding up a part of his mind.

"Sir, what do we do about the girl? Do we still treat her as a prisoner?" Sloane queried and Snoke shook his head.

"No. Until the girl proves her allegiance to us, she is to be treated as a guest. We do not want a warrior such as her to turn us into her enemies." He explained and she nodded.

"The creatures are getting more restless now that Armitage has returned."

"Yes. I can sense their agitation which is why we are to leave this base soon. I have already contacted the _Eclipse_ and they will arrive in two days."

"The TIEs, sir?"

"The Pilots can fly them back. We do have enough of them, do we not?" Snoke raised an eyebrow when Sloane gulped.

"Most of them are not well trained to fly one. I doubt they would even manage to land in the hangar, sir." She explained and Snoke went into thought before looking at the other empty room.

"Have HN-3333 and Armitage be brought into the room. You will discuss with them of the current situation." He ordered and she gave a salute before leaving.

##

It took a while for the two boys to enter the room with Admiral Sloane but once they did, Snoke didn't hesitate to enter their minds. He wanted to listen in to their thoughts while they were conversing about it.

"What is this about, sir?" Armitage asked Sloane, his mind full of curiosity but also wariness.

"We're fearful that the creatures outside will burst through our defences which is why in two days, we will be leaving the planet. Currently, we do not have enough pilots and won't be able to achieve the set target in time." Sloane explained, glancing in the direction of Snoke before looking back at the boys.

Armitage was already thinking about a solution, "Are TIEs able to be controlled by one console?"

"If you can link it together, yes." Sloane nodded and Armitage looked at Trihorn who had been staring into space.

"Tri, can you pilot all the TIEs and land them safely?"

"Anything." Trihorn shrugged before knocking his head back and looked up at the ceiling. "I'm still trying to figure out how to install hyperdrives into the TIEs."

"Why would they need hyperdrives?" Armitage asked.

"If one of the pilot gets left behind, they can activate their own hyperdrives to escape. Therefore, we save talent and effort. It works." Trihorn elaborated and there was only agreement floating in the air.

"You're still working on the TIEs?" Armitage queried, slightly in disbelief. "I thought you would have finished by now."

"I have. It's just that I wanted to add hyperdrives into the design." Trihorn replied.

"Can you send your current blueprint to me?" Sloane said, glancing at the separate room again when Trihorn took out his holopad.

"I've send it to the both of you, sir." He smiled, turning off his holopad before standing up and stretched. "Is that all? I still have work to do."

"You are talking to your superiors, 33. I would expect to see some manners." Sloane reprimanded and Trihorn gave a shrug which was slightly intriguing to Snoke.

 _'The boy doesn't care.'_ Snoke said to Sloane who frowned slightly.

"You may leave." She sighed and Trihorn saluted before leaving the room.

She then turned to Armitage who was currently studying the blueprint that was given. Snoke noted that he was concentrating hard, trying to figure out what was written but the boy didn't have much training in that aspect yet. Trihorn, however, have been fiddling with the TIEs in the hangar and thus, did his own research on the matter. The boy's thoughts were interesting though.

 _'Where are we going to get that?'_ Armitage muttered, Snoke picking it up as clear as day.

"Any thoughts on the TIE?" Sloane asked after studying the blueprint.

Armitage gave her a glance, "There are some pieces that seems impossible to get with them being in New Republic territory."

"Nothing is impossible to get, my dear." She smiled slightly, putting away the holopad onto the table. "Think deeper."

"Uhm…" Armitage gave an embarrassed look before his mind clicked. "We could use smugglers."

Sloane thought about it with a smile. "Yes, it is possible. For now, return back to your room and pack your things."

"Yes, sir." Armitage said, saluting before leaving the room.

"Armitage is improving." Sloane said aloud, knowing that Snoke was listening.

 _'Indeed, but he still has a long way to go.'_

 _'I'm sure by the time his father passes, Armitage will be ready.'_

 _'He better be.'_ Was Snoke's only reply before Sloane left the room.

~~Ten hours later~

"Sir, the girl has awoken." Brendol stated as he entered the room.

"Her presence is like a wildfire in the force. She awoke much earlier, didn't she?" Snoke looked at Brendol expectantly and the General nodded.

"Yes, sir. It took two hours to contain her as she started attacking the troopers. Once again, Armitage helped calm her down." He explained.

"The girl is no doubt having feelings for him or..." Snoke face turned grim, "The two have bonded."

Brendol audibly gulped before he answered, "That is very unlikely, sir. Armitage wouldn't dare set his goals aside for some… Savage."

"The girl is not a savage. She has proven to be more than that several times already." Snoke deadpanned before continuing with a slight tone of fascination. "Not many can just push the finest troopers aside or survive alone out in the forest. She also escaped us multiple times, General. Have you forgotten about that?"

"N- No, sir but… Are you suggesting that the girl is trying to get to know Armitage at a personal level?" Brendol queried, his interest peaked.

"From the memories I have sifted through, her parents have sent her to bounty hunting missions. It would be of no surprise if she has one order currently and turned the crash into a lie to gain his trust." The force user replied, his eyes narrowed at Brendol who frowned.

"What are we to do if that was true?"

"By then, I would have no interest in her anymore but for now, I need a report on the Garaptors." Snoke shifted slightly in his seat, changing the subject.

"The creatures didn't attack the last two nights but we are prepared just in case. We have patrols within the base as well, in case some of them managed to enter."

"No, there are none in the base so do not waste resources on that." Snoke muttered, looking at the floor in thought. "They must have given up or… They're preparing for a larger assault."

"That is our fear, sir." Brendol agreed drearily. "The troopers will be leaving last to ensure the higher officers escape early."

"Very well." Snoke nodded before Sloane slammed open the door, walking briskly towards the desk.

"Sir, Lynx has escaped again." She was annoyed and that was evident in Brendol as well which caused Snoke to think about it.

"Hm… We will leave her alone."

"What?" Brendol and Sloane said at the same time, surprised.

"She knows something that we do not. She has been out in the forest for more than six months. If she has seen something that will assist us, she might be going out to grab it and we can test this theory of the girl being bonded with Armitage. Therefore, we leave her alone." Snoke explained before adding, "We have to prepare to leave once the _Eclipse_ arrives."

 **The Pilot**

"Alright, just a few more minutes." Trihorn told Armitage while flipping some switches in his personal TIE.

Since he had lost his first one to a dragon, he adopted a second one which was now fitted with a better computer system than the previous one to control the other TIEs. Currently, they were doing the finishing touches before they will be able to take off. Trihorn was excited about it because he had never flown a whole squadron by himself. It would be an experience, one he was willing to test despite the many possibilities of failure.

"Are you sure about this?" Armitage asked, slightly unsure about what the other boy was doing.

"I'm very sure. I mean, it's my first time but I'm certain I've got everything right. If it all goes wrong well," Trihorn let out a nervous chuckle, "Let's not think about that."

"Right…" Armitage drawled out the word and Trihorn could tell he was very nervous.

"Hey, I promised your father, I won't let anything happen to you." He assured and the red head gave a nod.

In all honesty, Brendol forced Trihorn to take care of Armitage. It was a day after they returned from their journey in the forest and Brendol had been furious enough that he separated the two – Armitage being locked in his room and Trihorn being stuck in the hangar. Then, Brendol spent about an hour on berating each of them personally. Trihorn was pretty sure he had the worst of it all because he wasn't the General's son or his personal favourite… At least to his knowledge but even then, he realized it wasn't that bad. At the end of the scolding, Brendol had made him do a promise.

 _"Promise me that, even though you get the highest position possible, even though you are better than Armitage, you will always stay inferior and always make sure that whatever he does or whatever you do, he won't be harmed." Brendol said, eyes narrowed before it softened when Trihorn nodded furiously._

 _"I promise, sir."_

Trihorn had spent the next few hours of the day thinking about the promise, wondering what the General wanted from him. He doubted he would be chosen to be among the higher command. He was still in detention so it wouldn't make sense for them to put him in one. Other than that, he hadn't had the chance to study in officer's school yet. He hoped he didn't have to though because he enjoyed being a pilot. He was born for it.

"Alright, all done. Time to do one final check." Trihorn muttered, flipping another switch and looked over everything before nodding firmly. "Is the _Eclipse_ in atmosphere?"

"Not yet. Should be in two hours though." Armitage replied, wiping the dust off his hands before the both of them turned their heads to an obscure corner of the room when a noise echoed in the large hangar. "What was that?"

"I don't know…" The blue haired boy answered cautiously, voice going low into a whisper.

Another noise resounded off the walls causing the two boys to climb into the TIE, locking the hatch for safety. It was seriously late at night so no one should be moving around other than the patrols but they were moved to watch the outside perimeter. Whoever or whatever that was in the hangar, was an intruder. A hissy sound, similar to the raptors echoed softly in the room causing the two boys to glance at each other in fear. The Garaptors had somehow entered the base and they were searching for someone.

 _'Who are they searching?'_ Trihorn thought, trying to put the pieces together.

The raptors then did a call, which was followed by a roar when one of them spotted the two boys in the TIE seat. Trihorn and Armitage moved away from the glass when one of them slammed its head on it. They were standing on an elevated platform which allowed them to keep hitting the glass and bite it. Trihorn was the first to come out of his shock and started up the TIE, planning to take them out of the room when blaster fire started in the room.

They immediately looked over the computer to see a squad of troopers, Brendol and Sloane arriving in the room with blasters in their hands. The two boys felt smiles appear on their faces at the thought of being saved but then, the Garaptors started surrounding their rescue squad. It seemed that there were more than ten raptors that had managed to enter their base which was not good, not good at all. One by one, the troopers started falling and one of the raptors managed to scratch Brendol's face.

"We have to help them!" Armitage yelled, opening the top hatch before falling back down when a Garaptor that had been waiting there nearly bit his face.

"Blast!" Trihorn shouted, grabbing the blaster from Armitage's belt and fired at the raptor.

Said raptor let out a yelp before falling limp into the pilot seat. Trihorn pushed it away before he helped Armitage climb out of the TIE. The both of them then sat on top of the TIE and started firing at the raptors who were charging at Brendol and Sloane, the only survivors of the onslaught. The raptors dodged the attack and they split up, several attacking Armitage and Trihorn and a few targeting Sloane and Brendol.

Those few were easily disposed of so Sloane and Brendol could help the two boys with their pack of raptors which were swarming under the TIEs. Some of them climbed onto the walkway, managing to get close enough only to die from the blaster fire. Trihorn's aim was terrible so Armitage was the only one who managed to kill the raptors. Although, it was difficult when he had to keep changing targets when one got too close for comfort.

 _'How many are there?'_ Trihorn questioned himself, glancing around and noticed that there were only five more raptors left but to him, it felt like there were twenty.

The raptors were really, very fast. He had a hard time keeping track of them but after a minute or so, they had killed all the raptors in the hangar… Well, most of them. Trihorn turned around and tried to hit the raptor that had snuck up behind them but he missed, allowing the raptor to pounce on Armitage. Since they had been elevated on the TIE, Armitage gave a yell while he fell from the TIE, hitting his back on the ground below.

"Armitage!" Brendol yelled, aiming for the raptor but didn't have to as an arrow pierced its head, causing an instant death.

All of them looked up at a separate TIE to see Lynx with the same bow she wielded two days ago during the forest battle. Trihorn still wondered how she looked like without the helmet but he guessed that Mandalorians don't show their face in public. It was actually a part of an honor code that he still wasn't sure about and hoped he didn't have to follow the code while around her.

"Are you done fighting or will you start the fighters?" She questioned, mostly to Trihorn who was just staring at her.

Trihorn snapped himself out of it before climbing back into the TIE, "Is the _Eclipse_ in orbit now?"

"Yes, it is." Sloane replied before the same raptor call was heard echoing loudly in the base. "There's more of them coming."

"Oh, you've got to be joking." Trihorn hissed, powering up the TIE and waited for Armitage to climb down the walkway. "The other pilots aren't here yet."

"You'll have to fly all of them." Brendol said, wiping some blood still flowing down his cheek. "You can do that right?"

"I'll have to calibrate them first. I only have full control to those required." Trihorn answered, typing more things into the computer before a hiss sounded in the hangar. "It looks like they've found us in the hangar."

"They're after Armitage." Sloane said, looking at the young red head. "They've left a scent on you that can't be rubbed off."

"Then, I suggest Armitage get in the TIE and we leave for the _Eclipse_ earlier. It will cool off their aggression slightly allowing lesser casualties." Trihorn said just as Lynx killed a raptor that had entered via the vent.

"He's right." Lynx spoke up while killing the raptors. "Get in the TIE."

Armitage wanted to protest but one of the raptors appeared in front of him, sending him falling on his arse. Lynx killed the raptor though before she landed gracefully in front of him and punched another in the head then helped Armitage stand up. Putting in all of her strength, she hurled him up onto the TIE and since Trihorn had left the hatch open, Armitage just fell through, landing behind the pilot seat. Trihorn closed the hatch before he lifted the TIE slightly off the ground.

Then, he typed a command in the computer which caused the other TIEs to slowly lift off the ground. He gave a smile, seeing the fruits of his labor at work even though he really wasn't actually sure what the kriff he was doing. He had followed the instructions he downloaded off the old Imperial records but that wasn't even a complete list of the steps… Well, scratch that. He only understood half of the gibberish that was written in the instructions. The rest he just said yolo and went based on what he knew.

 _'How did I manage to do that?'_ He wondered, seeing the large form of the _Eclipse_ appearing in his view as he flew off into space.

"Are you sure you can land this?" Armitage was worried and Trihorn couldn't blame him either for he was nervous as well.

"Trust me on this. Everything will be A-Okay."

"Famous last words." Armitage mumbled and Trihorn gave him a look before it turned into a frown.

"Shut up."


	6. Chapter 5

A.N. About damn time I uploaded another chapter. Not going to lie, I'm quite stuck with ideas for this book and I have not gotten my hands yet on that new Phasma book which might change some plots I have/had for this. Also, I have been getting a lot of writer's block plus boredom for my Star Wars books and it feels like I'm missing something but I just don't know what. I have a few books I have yet to upload - tho I'm not sure if I want to - but anyways, enjoy this chapter.

* * *

 **The Survivor**

Lynx watched as one by one, the TIEs left the hangar before she stood in front of Sloane and Brendol when all the raptors looked at them. She took out an item from her pocket and unwrapped it before lifting it in the air, showing that it was a flame gem that glowed brightly in the room causing the raptors to yelp. Similarly to the TIEs, the raptors started running out of the room one by one, trying to escape from the light that was blinding them. Once all of them were gone, she looked at the hangar doors to see a bird made of flames, entering the hangar.

"What is that?" Brendol questioned while Lynx gave the gem to the bird.

"That is a firebird." She said, watching the bird leave before turning to look at them. "It collects flame gems for its younglings to deter the raptors from killing them."

"Interesting… We should head to the shuttle. It's time to leave the base." Sloane said, glancing at Brendol before narrowing her eyes at Lynx. "You're coming with us."

Lynx pressed her lips together before she stared outside the open hangar doors, "If I don't?"

"I doubt you'd survive long out there. You might have known a lot while surviving in six months but you had a secondary food source with us being here." Brendol reasoned before a small smile formed on his face when Lynx kept her bow on her back.

"What are we waiting for?"

"Just, one individual whom you've met briefly." Sloane smiled, motioning for Lynx to follow and the girl did so.

The walk to the hangar containing the shuttle was quiet as they were all lost in their own thoughts. Lynx thought about what to expect in the new vessel that they had told her. It was said to be huge, larger than anything she would have ever seen in her entire life which wasn't much actually. Sure, she worked as a bounty hunter in the past but all of the vessels she had used were small for quick getaways or large enough to be cargo ships.

"Sir, the shuttle is ready for take-off." The pilot said and Sloane gave a nod.

"Wait for the Supreme Leader to enter." She told him, turning around to face the ramp when a figure walked up it.

 _'So, he's that alien.'_ Lynx thought while Snoke walked into the shuttle.

Brendol and Sloane had briefly explained to her that no one else except a select few knew that Snoke was living with them. He was still an anonymous figure whom they had found on the planet and wanted to stay that way because the First Order was still vulnerable. Thus, if word of his presence got out, people would start panicking due to an alien being within the Order. Lynx didn't trust the alien one bit, mainly due to her instincts telling her to run away from the imposing figure. It told her that he was bad news and she didn't know why.

"Greetings, Lynx Piro. I assume the General and Admiral has briefly introduced me?" Snoke said, voice deep and low.

"Indeed." Lynx replied, bowing slightly before standing back up. "I have questions that need answers."

"I'm sure, you do. For now, we have more important matters to tend to." Snoke took a seat and Lynx did so on the opposite side of him while Sloane and Brendol took their own seats. "I am certain, you know the best places to commission smugglers?"

"Mostly…" Lynx narrowed her eyes at the speculation. "How do you know about that?"

"We have our ways." Brendol answered vaguely before he was elbowed by Sloane. "What?"

"We want her to trust us." Sloane whispered but Lynx picked it up as clear as day.

Then, Lynx looked back at Snoke. "Why do you want to commission smugglers?"

"We require… Certain equipment to build our new army." Snoke responded. "These parts can only be found in the core worlds which we are forbidden to enter unless we want our enemy to know of our operation."

Lynx looked at them then glanced outside the window when the shuttle started to slow down and land. "In two months, there is an assembly of smugglers on Tatooine. To my knowledge, most famed smugglers are going including… Han Solo."

At the mention of the name, a sort of excitement crossed over Snoke's eyes which she caught. However, she didn't dare call him out on it as the shuttle ramp was lowered and she was brought to her personal room. It felt more like a cell really as there were no means of escape and two troopers were stationed outside her door. It reminded her of the time in the dark room causing her to shiver involuntarily. The memory of the time the Jedi harassed her was still surprisingly fresh in her mind and she hated it terribly.

She had tried many times to get rid of it but it was lodged into her mind.

She decided to take a bath considering she stank from six months of being in the forest and spent approximately one hour in the showers. When she walked out, steam wafted through the air in her room before the cold touched her skin causing her to rush to the closet. Luckily, there was a set of black clothing already made for her so she quickly put it on and then her armor. It was all in one swift motion, something that had been ingrained in her since birth. A knock on the door caused her to tilt her head before she opened it to see Trihorn, holding a holopad in his hands which he gave to her.

"A gift to you." He smirked and she accepted the present, scanning the contents.

"Training with the troopers." She muttered incredulously before looking back at him. "Whose leading?"

"No idea. I have separate work but I suppose we could meet during lunch?" He asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"Maybe." She replied, closing the door before removing a hidden camera at the back of the holopad and turned it off. "Kriff, are all boys this immature?"

 **The Pilot**

The camera trick failed.

Plan B was still in effect.

Trihorn gave a smile while he watched Lynx surfed the holoNet on her new holopad. He was quite surprised to see her surfing the smuggling websites but then a webpage caught his eye. It had some of the materials he needed for the test TIE! He quickly took it down before Lynx could exit the page and noted that those smugglers were having a party down on Tatooine in two months. Oh, he was going to go there with or without permission.

"Tri! Could you get my dinner?" Armitage asked from his room and Trihorn rolled his eyes, putting the holopad down to stand up.

"Why can't you go?"

"My father has given me some work to do including writing down the new enlistees we've captured." Armitage replied, not looking up from the holopad in his hands.

Trihorn gave a sigh while he walked out the door. He nearly forgot that they stole babies to become the new generation of officers, stormtroopers or pilots for the First Order. After all, he had been taken away from his home and family. He no longer remembers how his parents looked like nor did he know where the necklace his father gave him disappeared to but one thing was certain, he was willing to serve the Order as long as they give him a home… And feed him, you know.

He passed by the trooper's mess hall, seeing as there were three separate mess halls for the three different armies but when he took one peek inside, he stopped just after the door. He took a step back to look inside again and a female stormtrooper caught his eyes. The trooper seemed to be two years older than him and had long blonde hair with a pair of bright blue eyes that caught his attention the most, mainly because he had electric blue eyes which were similar in some aspect. He continued walking, whistling nonchalantly when the trooper noticed him staring at her.

He entered the officer's mess hall in thought, ignoring all the stares from the other officers as he was a pilot. He managed to convince the cook that Armitage sent him and took the meal as well as his own before returning back to the room which currently, he shared with Armitage due to the fact that they could. To be honest, they were both fine with each other so they would make good roommates. He gave the red head his meal before he seated on the sofa, eating rather dreamily and almost missed the question Armitage gave out.

"What do you think of having a personal squad?" Armitage queried, taking a mouthful of his meal, which looked similar to rice with some sort of meat.

"That would be nice." Trihorn said, a smile plastered on his face ever since he entered the room.

Armitage finally took notice of it and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"Huh?" Trihorn looked at the other boy before looking away, shaking his head. "Oh, it's nothing."

"You never have nothing on your mind." Armitage deadpanned with a frown on his face, "Spit it out."

"I might be in love."

"Kriff. Tri, you're too young for that." Armitage growled slightly, going back to scanning the contents of his holopad.

"Hey, love works on anyone including you." Trihorn said irritably. "I've seen the way you look at Lynx."

"Oh yeah?" Armitage narrowed his eyes at Trihorn who did the same.

"Yeah!" Trihorn shouted back before the both of them looked away, eating their meals silently and in frustration.

For the rest of the night, they avoided talking to each other but the both of them kept thinking of the same thing.

Are they allowed to fall in love?

 **The Survivor**

The next morning, Lynx woke up to the alarm set on her holopad. She turned it off and got up, stretching before letting out a loud yawn. She had taken off her armor the night before to sleep so it was idly sitting to the right of her bed. She took good care of it after getting scolded by her mother for just laying it around messily.

 _"Your armor is your life. You take care of it well and it will protect you well."_ She recalled, letting out a sigh before taking another shower.

She didn't spend too long though and within five minutes, she was back out and getting redressed. When she finished, she walked out the door to see some other officers already getting to work. She looked at her chronometer and based on Core World time, it was about five in the morning, the time where most officers got to work. It was also the time where she would naturally wake up to do some warm ups and practice.

However, judging from her schedule, she really did have to train with other troopers at seven. She had plenty of time to do her own things till then which is why she headed to the training room and saw a range of weapons to the side. She stood still in front of the weapons rack, going through all of the weapons in her mind before taking out her own bow from her back and went to the practice range. There were a few tricks she had been working on in the forest and back on Mandalore. The tricks were not that simple and she had been practicing for two years to perfect it.

First, she had to warm up.

She almost forgot the most important exercise of the day and started stretching her limbs for a total of ten seconds each. She started jogging around the room for three rounds which matched up a total of one hour so she had an hour left before the other troopers came in. She grabbed her bow again and started twirling it while it was in staff form. The twirling became faster with each successful turn before she tossed it in the air where it changed into a bow. While it slowly came down back to her, Lynx pulled out an arrow, grabbed the bow then fired at the target, hitting a bullseye.

Then, she did a turn while moving forward, pulling back another arrow and fired at the target after finishing said spin, earning another bullseye. Afterwards, she pulled out another arrow after pretending to be fighting off someone with her bow before she did another turn, pulling back the arrow and fired the bow in a horizontal position, the arrow hitting just below the other arrows but still a bullseye. She changed her bow back into a staff and did a few moves before changing it to a bow, going down low and fired at the target, managing not to destroy the other arrows but still hitting the bullseye.

She grabbed the other arrows first before going back behind the line and released a nervous breath. She took five steps back, calculated her moves before running forward. She used the table to gain elevation and leapt, doing a twirl mid-air and fired while still upside down in the air before she landed with a forward roll to break her fall. She looked up at the target expectantly only to find that she missed the bullseye by a few centimetres, landing on the second layer. She felt disappointed by that but murmurs behind her caused her to turn around and saw the troopers all lined up, having entered the room the moment she did her run.

"Everyone form up!" A Major shouted so Lynx grabbed the arrow from the target and stood beside another trooper who was slightly shorter than her.

"You must be Lynx." The trooper said and Lynx nodded, noticing that the trooper was a she. "I am to be your partner."

"On whose orders?" Lynx asked.

"The General."

"Today, you will be learning about combat between a blaster and a choice for your melee weapon." Major Yuma told them before looking at Lynx. "Perhaps Lynx could show us some moves along with Phasma."

 _'Why does that sound sexual?'_ Lynx thought to herself while glancing at Phasma whom she definitely knew was a girl based on the name.

She went to the weapons rack she inspected earlier, putting her bow and quiver to the side. She had wanted to keep it on her because she was mistrustful of the other stormtroopers but decided against it as this fight might be harder than expected.

"Who will choose first?" Yuma queried and Lynx looked at Phasma.

"The newcomer should choose first." Phasma said before Lynx could so she gave a nod and scanned the weapons again, her mind replaying the words her father said when she asked for advice after failing her first test.

 _"I didn't know which staff to choose! There were so many!" She cried, pouting afterwards causing her father to chuckle._

 _"We don't choose the staff, Lynx." He replied with a smile, eyes calm and amused. "The staff chooses us."_

 _"How do I know if it's the right one for me when there are thousands to choose from?" She asked_ while in reality, her hand hovered above a staff which she took out.

 _"Like this," Her father twirled a staff in his hands and around his torso before tossing it in the air, balancing it vertically when one end landed on his finger_ and in the present, she mimicked it. _"If it wavers and fall, it's not for you. If it's still and calm, it is the perfect balance for you to use."_

Lynx balanced the staff on her index finger before she grabbed it in her palm and held it in attack position, facing Phasma who took a blaster from the weapon rack on the opposite side. Lynx narrowed her eyes when the other troopers started murmuring and she picked up a few words. Most of them were how terribly she was going to be beaten and even bets were being placed on who would win. She also noted that Phasma's stance was that of someone who was going to take it easy… Well that was her biggest mistake.

As soon as Yuma gave the signal, Lynx charged at Phasma and dodged the two shots with ease before using the end of her staff to hit the other's face. Phasma's head turned to the right and she stumbled in the direction for a second before she stood back up, shoulders tense. Lynx jumped back when Phasma took a shot before she ran at her again, taking another swing, which was blocked. Phasma fired at her while they were locked but Lynx managed to block it with the other end of her staff before Phasma kicked her back.

Then, the trooper fired a few shots at the Mandalorian which she dodged at first before blocking the last shot to her head with her staff.

 _"Use this skill only when you need to."_

 _"Why father?"_

 _"A surprise always gives you the upper hand."_

Lynx ran at Phasma who was slightly surprised at how the Mandalorian was able to block her final blow before she started firing. However, she was still in shock and awe causing her aim to be terrible allowing Lynx to get close enough and hit hard enough to knock her down. Phasma grunted and gasps were heard from the other troopers when Lynx held the other down at staff point. Phasma admitted defeat and was once again surprised when Lynx put the staff away to hold a hand out to her. Phasma accepted the help, putting away the blaster back on the weapon rack while Lynx put away the staff and grabbed her items before the two fell back in line. They listened to the Major do a small debrief before the two took their seat on a nearby bench to watch the next pair battle off.

"Hey, thank you for showing me mercy." Phasma said and Lynx tilted her head slightly.

"Mercy?"

"Most of the time, it's kill or be killed in our training. I'm usually the one that kills." Phasma admitted, watching the battle before turning her head to Lynx. "Do you want to go for lunch later?"

"I'm open."

##

"Dismissed." Major Yuma made a shooing motion and one by one, the troopers filed out of the training room.

Phasma and Lynx were the last to leave with their conversation being awkward at first, seeing as they needed to introduce themselves to each other. After a few minutes though, it was like they knew each other since birth. They had one thing in common, their hatred for men. Well, they don't exactly hate men. It was a common thing between ladies to find men being stupid. Finding a smart man was exceptionally tough within any military organization as most either had no interaction with the ladies or are trying too hard to get one.

Phasma and Lynx were no exception to that rule.

By the time they reached the mess hall, about ten troopers had come up to flirt with them but they would get turned down roughly by the two ladies. Lynx managed to get past another group of boys to get her meal first before she gave an apologetic look to Phasma as she was still trying to get out of the horde. Phasma gave Lynx her helmet which she proceeded to put on the table they had chosen, away from any of the other troopers and obscure enough to not get noticed by any of them. She also put her helmet on the table showing gold colored eyes with a bright orange hair and a pale skin from being underneath her Mandalorian armor all day, every day.

"Hey Lynx." Trihorn joined her table though and Lynx had to admit that he was the only person so far who was not obnoxious at all.

"Hey." Lynx greeted back, watching Trihorn look at the rest of the troopers in the hall before he was suddenly moving low, as if trying not to get seen. "What's wrong?"

"It's that girl!" He whispered yelled and Lynx looked at the crowd, trying to spot said girl before realizing he was talking about Phasma.

 _'I take it back. He is just as obnoxious.'_

"Take your problem elsewhere." She grumbled, not wanting to go through with this.

"It's not a problem!" He replied before shrinking slightly when she glared at him. "Okay, I guess it is but I want to hook up with her."

"You're too young for that."

"That's what he- I mean she said." Trihorn gulped when Lynx narrowed her eyes at the slip.

"What?"

"Nothing. Still, the younger the better for love, right?" He smirked.

Oddly enough, she noted that it looked similar to a smuggler instead of a military man.

"I'm afraid she has no interest in one." Lynx deadpanned, continuing with her meal.

"Oh, come on." Trihorn muttered, looking back at Phasma only to find her walking in their direction. "Why is she coming here?"

"She's my partner." Lynx mumbled, moving closer inside when Phasma took her seat beside her.

"Lynx, who is this?"

"We met on the planet I crash landed on." Lynx said then gave a smirk at his still shocked face, "Introduce yourself."

"I- uh. Eep. I have to go. Armitage is calling me." Trihorn excused himself, quickly standing up and exiting the mess hall causing Lynx to roll her eyes, looking at Phasma unamused.

"Boys. They never learn, do they?" She chuckled while Phasma moved seats to the other side to continue her meal.

"Who was he, really?" Phasma asked again.

"His name is Trihorn, the friend of the General's son."

"Him?" Phasma questioned incredulously. "He's so young."

"Doesn't mean he's not special." Lynx retorted, finishing her meal. "Based on the reports I've skimmed through, he has shown exceptional flying skills and an IQ higher than any ever recorded."

Phasma gave a nod, a look of understanding crossing her face before she finished her meal. Then, the both of them stood up in sync and while Lynx put on her helmet, Phasma went ahead to throw away the trash and put back the tray before they walked back to their rooms. Phasma put on her helmet before they left the hall, walking with confident strides. Lynx noted that the officer's mess hall was near empty and she wondered why it was so.

"Do you want to do anything later?" Lynx asked, standing by the doorway to her room which was surprisingly beside Phasma's as the two were the only female troopers on board.

"I've been wanting to see the visit the hangar. I heard that there is a new vessel near completion." Phasma answered and Lynx gave a smile.

"Sure."


	7. Chapter 6

**The Young Hux**

Hux gave a sigh and rubbed his forehead at the completion of his work. He wanted the new FN stormtrooper corps to be the best within the Order. It was the only reason why he had spent a while looking through each captured new born. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, having not taken his rest the last night before looking at the door when Trihorn came in, looking traumatized. However, Hux didn't care and gave a grumble, still furious about the argument they had the day before.

"Are you finally done?" Trihorn asked, much to Armitage's annoyance.

"Leave me."

Trihorn gave a sigh while taking a seat on the sofa. "I'm afraid not. Did you forget that today is a special day?"

"Hm?" That caught Armitage's attention causing him to look at the calendar. "Oh, I nearly forgot. The opening of the new _Resurgent_ -class battlecruiser."

"Yep." Trihorn nodded, popping the _'p'_. "Get yourself cleaned up. High command expects us to be there in ten minutes."

"Us?" Armitage queried, going into the showers to take a quick one.

"Yes, us." Trihorn scoffed, slightly offended by the query. "They were impressed by my TIE fighter design and wanted my opinion on the new battlecruiser."

"Alright, I suppose that's a valid reason." Armitage mused, coming out of the showers fully dressed two minutes later. "How do I look?"

"Ravishing." Trihorn smirked at the red head's displeased look.

Nonetheless, they walked out of their room, locking it behind them and went to the hangar. When they arrived, high command was already waiting for them so the two boys joined them behind the door. Armitage was anxious because the men surrounding him had powerful positions within the Order. Some were the Senates of the New Republic that supported them which made him feel even more scared. Luckily for him, Trihorn stood beside him at all times, speaking when spoken to like a true follower.

 _'At least he still has manners.'_ He thought jokingly.

"Gentlemen, sorry for the delay." The Engineer entered, holding the door slightly open, "We had a last-minute issue that needed to be fixed."

"And have you fixed it?" Armitage looked around at the familiar voice to see his father and Admiral Sloane to his right.

"Yes, sir. It is safe to enter now." The Engineer moved aside, allowing them to enter and Armitage immediately weaved past everyone to get to his father.

He tapped his father's hand when he made it beside him and Brendol only gave him a glance, showing that he acknowledged his presence. After making sure Trihorn was beside him, the young Hux stood in awe when they finally received the full view of the battlecruiser that had been in the works for… Three years? It was something he had been anticipating for a long while, seeing as the old _Imperial_ -class Star Destroyers could no longer meet his expectation. Actually, the vessel was not yet completed. There were still missing pieces and some enhancements that could be made but was not implemented yet. Armitage looked at Trihorn when the boy took out his holopad, writing something down while the schematics was being projected on the wall beside them. Armitage watched as Trihorn kept looking up from his holopad to glance at the battlecruiser and schematics then typed something into his holopad.

"If you would please follow me, we can take a tour of the inside." The Engineer started walking down the other hallway towards the battlecruiser and while everyone else followed said engineer, Armitage stayed behind with Trihorn.

"What are you finding?" He asked the blue haired boy who was still busy with his holopad.

"There's something wrong but I can't seem to place it properly." Trihorn replied, using his thumb to measure reality against the schematics.

"Hey guys. I didn't expect the both of you to be here." Armitage twirled around at the unexpected entry of Lynx and a trooper he wasn't too familiar with.

Although, Trihorn became a mumbling idiot.

"H-H-Hi?" The blue haired boy said stiffly.

"Who is she?" Armitage asked, rolling his eyes at Trihorn's idiotic look.

"This is Lieutenant Phasma. She is to be my partner throughout my whole journey in training." Lynx introduced and Phasma gave a salute to the young Hux.

"Greetings, sir." Phasma said and Armitage gave a nod before narrowing his eyes at Lynx.

"What are the both of you doing here?"

"We had nothing on our agenda for the rest of the day. Therefore, we thought it would be beneficial if we took a look at the new vessel. In case we get assigned to be on board." Lynx explained.

"I see." Armitage elbowed Trihorn on the stomach before adding, "Well, we just begun the tour of the vessel. Unfortunately, our group went ahead so if you would like to accompany us?"

"It would be an honor, sir." Phasma agreed and Armitage started to like her.

"Sure." Lynx shrugged, about to take the lead when Armitage grabbed her shoulder.

"I'm taking the lead." He muttered, walking forward before Lynx too, grabbed his shoulder.

"Do you know where we're going?" Lynx queried and Armitage stopped in his tracks in thought before letting out a grumble.

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Are you questioning me?" Armitage growled warningly causing Lynx to shrug.

"Okay, you're the boss." She smirked, ignoring the young boy's warning as she was two years older than him.

The four of them then started walking through the battlecruiser with Armitage in the lead. Well, it was predictable that he didn't know where he was going but the group just followed as they were willing to explore the ship. If they got lost, that's just a part of exploration. Halfway through, Trihorn tapped Lynx's shoulder, telling her that he wanted a private conversation while Phasma continued walking, slightly behind Armitage. The young Hux narrowed his eyes at the two cautiously before looking at Phasma.

"Are you the girl whom my father keeps bragging about?" He questioned and Phasma tilted her head slightly.

"If by bragging, you mean meeting past his expectations then yes. I am the first girl to be successful in his trainings." She replied, voice steady so that her pride didn't get in the way.

"How do you feel about training a stormtrooper corps on your own?" He said and saw her pacing slowed before it resumed speed.

"A formidable task that will be conquered." She answered determinedly and Armitage gave a smile, already planning to put her in a good position.

 **The Survivor**

"Lynx, you worked as a bounty hunter, right?"

"I'm really curious as to how you got that information." Lynx queried and Trihorn opened a picture on his holopad.

"I just found this floating on the Net." It was a picture of Lynx's first ever bounty hunting mission and she remembered it well.

A massacre. It was a total massacre which her parents had sent her off to with the sole reason of learning. It was her first traumatic experience that she hid within herself, burying the guilt and fear under a layer of happiness and ignorance.

 _'A hunter doesn't feel emotions. They kill those who need to be killed or those who get in the way without hesitation.'_ Her father had said with her mother supporting him.

"What about it?" She finally said, returning to the first question.

"There's a gathering on Tatooine which should sell some of the parts I require to build a test TIE. Do you think you can get me there?" He gave a smile while she glanced at Armitage who was talking to Phasma.

"The General is already going there. I assume he would want to bring you along for the journey." She answered, placing both of her hands in her pockets.

"Oh, interesting." He nodded, the same smile still staying on his face. "Is there someone I should expect to be there?"

"Han Solo." Lynx muttered and Trihorn stopped in his tracks.

"You're joking."

"Nope."

"He's going to be there?!" He yelled but also made sure the other two couldn't hear them.

"Indeed." She gave a smile before it turned into a frown and leaned in closer to him. "Did you know that an alien is among us?"

"Wait, what?" Trihorn gave a quizzical look, his eyes darting left and right. "Where did you hear that?"

"I saw it, with my own eyes." Lynx hissed, voice going deadly. "I have a very bad feeling about the alien."

"Are you sure it's not someone disguising as one?" Trihorn queried and Lynx gave him a look.

"Who in the universe would do such a thing?" She hissed before shouting at Armitage, "Can you find the bridge?!"

"Are you questioning me again!" Armitage shouted back and Lynx gave a chuckle before looking at Trihorn.

"I don't know." Trihorn chuckled before his eyes went distant. "I don't-. I don't believe it."

"Well, I do. I'm betting he will show up in the future but _'when'_ is the question." Lynx muttered, feeling unnerved by the conversation all of a sudden.

"Hey, are you okay?" Trihorn asked, concern washing over his face.

"I'm fine. I just-… It's nothing." Lynx muttered before they looked up when arriving at the bridge of the new vessel.

"Found it." Armitage grinned while Trihorn was already looking at the different computers.

The room was still dark so they had to use their own flashlights to move around. Lynx was impressed with how everything looked and her memories of driving fighter ships were still fresh in her mind. This looked more like a battle station than anything and just as she was about to explore on her own, Trihorn let out a yelp.

"Too close!" He shouted, pushing the broken wires back in to fix the computer he was on. "I'd tell ya, we should leave after this."

"We haven't completely explored the ship." Armitage protested.

"I have other work to do, Taj." Trihorn said and Lynx raised an eyebrow at the name.

"Don't call me that, Tri."

"Hey, if you get to call me that. I get to call you Taj."

"I'm older than you."

"And I'm smarter!" Trihorn retorted, standing up from his seat.

"Boys! Shut it!" Lynx growled, annoyed by the echo. "We're older than the both of you so you listen to us!"

"Yet I am superior." Armitage shot back before looking at Phasma who stepped forward.

"With all due respect, we are both of the same rank but I am older which would make me the superior officer." She said and everyone seemed to settle down at that.

"So, until I receive the next rank… You are in-charge of this little group." Armitage relented, grumbling slightly.

"It would seem so." Phasma agreed, glancing between them. "Trihorn, what have you found?"

"Cameras." He smiled, showing them the tour group walking down the halls. "I've pretty much hacked into all of it."

"I didn't know hacking was in your skill set." Armitage muttered and the other boy let out a chuckle.

"Hey, I'm a tech nerd." He shrugged, changing the camera on the holopad. "It looks like they're entering a room. If we go now, we might be able to make it."

"We're staying here. We weren't invited on the tour." Lynx muttered, looking outside the windows to see the stars as the vessel was facing the exit of the hangar.

"We'll meet here once the meeting is over." Armitage said, grabbing the holopad from Trihorn and gave it to Phasma. "Use this to keep track of our current location. I doubt we'll be entering the bridge."

"Got it." Phasma nodded, joining Lynx while Trihorn whined.

"That was my favourite!"

 **The Older Hux**

'Where are they?' Brendol thought while scanning the halls.

He realized that the duo was nothing but trouble and that was something he would have to think about. He was the only one who waited outside and as soon as he saw his son with Trihorn, a frown was etched on his face. The both of them were running down the hall, after an expedition of their own, he assumed. Punishment would have to wait for there are other important matters to attend to. He waited for Armitage and Trihorn to catch their breath before allowing them to enter the room first, then he did and closed the door.

The showcase had already started and Admiral Sloane was prompting the engineers with questions seeing as he was a little busy. While Trihorn had free roam around the room, Armitage was forced to stay by his side and listen to the questions being put forth by the senators. Politics was never one of his strong suit but a little threat and you can prove to be the top of the command chain. The various questions being put forth were interesting to say the least with the Order still at its weakest and it would take a while before they could rise. He doubted he would still be alive when it occurs.

"Your… Little engineer over there has provided a very foolproof blueprint." The head engineer, Senior Victor, pointed at Trihorn who stopped in his tracks. "The only problem with this is that some materials are not achievable even with the Senate's help."

"We know." Brendol muttered before nudging Armitage, "I believe my son has come up with a good answer."

Armitage gulped when all eyes turned to him before he pushed down the fear and straightened his posture, "Yes. We will use smugglers for the… Hard to reach equipment."

"Are you certain?" One of the Senators spoke up. "I heard that the Smugglers are getting more destructive with the New Republic still in turmoil."

"We've heard it as well but those are rumors. We cannot be certain that they are causing destruction."

"What about Han Solo? If he finds out-."

"Han Solo is going back to his old smuggling ways." Sloane intervened. "He doesn't care about the increase in smuggling activities, he enjoys it."

"We can profit from this if we play it well." Brendol added. "We also have to be very careful of double crossers. We are dealing with smugglers which is why every precaution will be taken when we enter Tatooine."

The senators murmured to each other while Brendol watched Trihorn return with a notepad in his hands instead of his holopad. It caused Brendol to raise an eyebrow but he still looked through the scribbles when they boy gave it to him. A small sentence at the side of the paper caused him to narrow his eyes and look up at the crowd, clearing his throat to cease the conversation.

"Gentlemen." He passed the notepad to Sloane for her to look through. "It's come to my attention that one of you is a spy."

"Don't be ridiculous." The lead senator scoffed. "No one here would do such a thing."

"No one?" Brendol raised an eyebrow while Armitage shot a hidden camera on one of the senator's belt.

The Senator stumbled back, surprised by the attack before two troopers who had followed them on the tour held him down. The senator fought back but it was a futile effort as the two troopers were larger and heavier than him. The traitor was a male Rodian with teal skin and dark blue eyes that looked like a starry night.

"Who are you?" Brendol questioned as he had never seen the Rodian before.

"No one you should care about." The Rodian spat before getting punched in the gut.

"Put him in a cell." Brendol ordered the two troopers before turning towards the others whom Sloane addressed.

"Senator Hopfs. You were close to him and yet you did not know he was a traitor or are you one as well?" Sloane questioned the other Rodian who stuttered.

"I assure you that I'm innocent! I didn't know he was a traitor!" Hopfs said and Sloane narrowed her eyes, glancing at Armitage and Trihorn for confirmation.

"Political power plays." Trihorn muttered with a shrug. "He's innocent but if you want to be sure, you could waste time and interrogate him."

"You're all free to go." Sloane said, gesturing for the senators to leave before she turned to Armitage and Trihorn. "Where have the both of you been?"

"You're on your own." Trihorn tapped Armitage on the back before taking a step back.

The older boy glared at him before answering, "We explored the vessel by ourselves, managing to enter the bridge which was half completed."

"And where is your holopad, Trihorn?" Brendol questioned the other boy who was staring elsewhere.

"Oh, I uh-…" Trihorn gulped as he tried to come up with an excuse. "I left it in class."

"You shouldn't lie to a superior officer, boy." Brendol growled and Trihorn gulped again before relenting.

"It's with Phasma and Lynx who are in the bridge."

"What are they doing here?" Sloane queried, raising an eyebrow.

"They had nothing to do and wanted to look at the vessel." Trihorn explained, scratching the back of his head. "Sir, I must know, are you going to Tatooine in two months?"

"How do you know that?" Brendol frowned, glancing at Sloane who returned the gesture.

"The HoloNet." Trihorn shrugged before taking a small step back when the General glared at him warningly. "I- I mean I talked to Lynx and she told me about it… You are going to invite me, right?"

"With this revelation, I'll think on it." Brendol said before looking at Armitage who took a step forward.

"Father, you need him on the planet. He is the only one who created the blueprint and knows that parts required for it."

"Like I said, Armitage, I'll think on it." Brendol said in a tone that meant it was not up for debate.

The younger Hux only saluted before leaving the room with Trihorn in tow. Brendol narrowed his eyes at them before looking at Sloane who was still holding onto the notepad Trihorn gave. An image caught their attention as they kept staring at it, trying to make out the figure that Trihorn had drawn. It was rather rough and dark, as if he had just woken up from a nightmare to write it all down.

"This is Snoke." Sloane murmured, moving her fingers away to read the word.

 _'SUPREME'_

"Is there a date for this?" Brendol asked and Sloane shook her head.

"There is none but it appears to be recent." She replied, flipping between the previous and after page. "It seems that he was influenced to draw that image as his other works does not seem to be related."

Brendol snatched the notepad from her to flip to other previous pages, hoping to find a similar drawing but none showed up. "This is the first time…"

"And it won't be the last."

 **The Young Hux**

Armitage didn't understand Trihorn at all. In fact, he thought the young boy would be disappointed that he wasn't going to Tatooine but judging from his chipper attitude currently, that doesn't seem to be the case. It would seem that Trihorn had a plan in mind and as much as Armitage wanted to squeeze it out of him, he decided to play the long game.

"You're back." Phasma spoke, breaking Armitage out of his thoughts.

"What did you find?" He asked them, seeing as Trihorn suddenly went quiet and was hiding behind him slightly.

"Vital information hasn't been fully transferred into the vessel but I can confirm that there has been a list set up to troopers who are going to be stationed here." Lynx said, giving the holopad back to Trihorn. "It appears that Phasma and I are in that list so once the vessel is completed, we won't be aboard the _Eclipse_ no longer."

"I hope by then, I will be old enough to command this beauty." Armitage muttered, putting a hand on the computer beside him.

"It's time we head back." Lynx said, walking past them to the exit. "Are you coming?"

There only collective nods before the four of them started walking out of the room and down the hall. The whole battlecruiser was quiet, something they were not accustomed to and it almost made them want to stay on board the vessel much longer than needed. However, the vessel was still in the process of being built and it wouldn't do good if they got caught inside it. Even if it wasn't completed, they felt a sense of belonging and definitely wanted to be stationed there when they got older.

"Hey, Taj." Trihorn called and Armitage snarled at the name.

"Stop calling me that."

"Not why I called but could you get me to a control room in the _Eclipse_?"

Armitage raised an eyebrow at the request, "Why do you want to do so?"

"Camera hack." Trihorn grinned at the thought in his mind. "I believe if I manage to get in, we can spy on everyone and see if we have a mole aboard this vessel… It is also to find out if Lynx told the truth of an alien being aboard."

"An alien?" Armitage nearly yelled but managed not to do so. "There's an alien living among us?"

"Hey, I know. I don't believe it either but Lynx saw him with her own two eyes so I'm guessing that alien is somewhere on board right now. All I need to do is get the cameras and we can try to find him. We can also listen to meetings for the future of the Order… Your future." Trihorn poked Armitage on the chest at the last sentence and Armitage frowned, looking away.

Spying was considered treason within the Order because some secrets are best left unknown. However, with an alien in the mix, there's something about it that Armitage didn't seem to enjoy. Especially when his father seemed to not know about it and his father was Xenophobic. Other than that, Trihorn's last point did make sense. The Order was going to be his and whatever his father or the Admiral planned, he had to know so it didn't help that in some meetings, he wasn't allowed to be in it.

 _'Probably a meeting with the alien.'_ Armitage thought then looked at Trihorn with a nod. "I'll try to find an empty one by next week."

"Perfect." Trihorn smiled, draping an arm around Armitage's shoulders. "I'm turning eleven tomorrow. What about you?"

"I'm turning twelve tomorrow…" Armitage said, the both of them moving back in surprise at the revelation.

"You're joking." Trihorn muttered while Armitage gave him a look.

"I don't joke about this."

"That's incredible!" Trihorn laughed, punching Armitage on the arm. "We're practically twins with only a year of age difference!"

"Interesting." Lynx said with a smirk causing the both of them to stop. "Now I know when to throw surprise parties."

"You better not." Armitage scowled, the group beginning to walk again. "I prefer being inconspicuous."

"Right." Lynx drawled and Armitage let out a sigh, planning to lock his room tomorrow. "What's on the agenda till Smuggler week?"

"Training and lessons." Phasma replied and Armitage looked at Trihorn who nodded.

"We have the same." Trihorn answered the unspoken question while they finally left the battlecruiser.

Lynx gave a salute before walking down the other hall with Phasma, "Well, see you in that week."

* * *

A.N. You can guess who's appearing in the next chapter. ;)


	8. Chapter 7

**The Apprentice**

Ben Organa Solo does not have a normal childhood like most people thought he did. In fact, he had the complete opposite with his force powers growing stronger each day and the fact that his parents were always busy with work. He was always left alone to his own devices, his parents unable to take care of him. Currently, he was following his father to a food stall since he was living with his uncle Luke. His father was on a smuggling trip and his mother was at Coruscant, doing politics which meant that he would be staying with his uncle for a while.

"Do you want anything, Ben?" Han asked when they entered a food stall.

"No thanks, father." Ben replied, opting to stay outside instead.

"Where are you going?" The old Smuggler continued when Ben started walking down the street.

"You do with your business, dad. I want to explore a little." The young boy answered, pulling up his hood and walked away briskly.

He put his hands in his pockets while looking at his surroundings, noticing the typical shop owners desperately trying to get customers. He winced when one of the owners shouted at him, mistaking him as a child thief that plagued the streets. He was none of those and in fact, he was of a much higher status with his mother being a politician and his father a professional smuggler and an ex-General. He decided to enter an alleyway to get out of the crowded streets and take a breather.

"I'm telling you they went that way."

"No, they went this way!"

Ben turned to look at the entrance of the alley to see two boys fighting against each other with a girl wearing some armor. He realized that it was the Mandalorian armor but the color was different from the ones he was used to. The three children then entered the alley causing Ben to quickly hide among the shadows, staying out sight. They were arguing about something but Ben could only make out the fact that they were lost from a group, probably their parents.

"Arguing will get us nowhere." The Mandalorian sighed, standing in between the two boys. "We might as well keep searching."

"In a crowded and dangerous place like Tatooine? Noooo thank you. I'm going back to the ship." The blue haired boy said, walking the other way.

"Do you even know where it is?" The red-haired boy questioned lazily and Trihorn stopped in his tracks.

"Somewhere…"

"Face it, we're lost. The sooner you accept that, the better." Armitage huffed, crossing his arms over his chest before he finally took notice of Ben. "Hey! Show yourself!"

Ben winced slightly before taking a step forward when the girl pointed her blaster at him. "I mean no harm."

"I doubt you can." Lynx muttered before Trihorn pushed her weapon down and walked forward casually.

"What's your name, kid?" He queried, stopping when Ben took a step back.

 _'Don't talk to strangers.'_ Ben remembered his mother saying that and thought about running away.

"There's no use running." Trihorn said matter-of-factly. "Lynx can track you down within seconds with her armor."

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." Ben hissed and Trihorn let out a chuckle.

"I assure you kid, we won't do anything to you if you promise to not do anything to us. We're just here for a visit, no?" Ben tilted his head at the boy's accent.

"Are you Corellian?" He asked and Trihorn raised an eyebrow, looking back at Armitage who shrugged.

"I was six when you were taken. We don't know who your parents were." He explained and Trihorn thought about it before looking back at Ben.

"I suppose I am." The blue head mumbled, slightly elated at having found a piece of him. "Now, answer my first question?"

Ben narrowed his eyes before he gave a sigh, feeling desperate for a friend. "I'm Ben."

"Hello Ben. I am Trihorn. The Mandalorian is Lynx and the red head is-"

"Hux." Armitage cut Trihorn off, looking at him before turning his head to Ben. "I am Lieutenant Hux."

"Spoil Sport." Trihorn huffed. "Are you lost or are you waiting for someone?"

"I'm exploring." Ben scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "What are the three of you doing here?"

"We were following a group but lost them." Trihorn shrugged nonchalantly before voices at the entrance of the alley caught their attention.

They immediately see a group of children running past and only one broke off to enter this alley. The female thief stopped in her tracks however when she noticed the four of them and was about to turn around when a group of mobsters blocked her exit... Their exit. Ben gave a gulp before glancing at the three older children when they stood in front of him in a protective manner. The small girl was pushed behind their little wall as well before Lynx moved forward, changing her bow into a staff while her blaster was kept on her belt.

"Are you thieves?" The girl whispered and Ben was about to say no when Armitage closed his mouth.

"Yes, we are. We just arrived on Tatooine. Where's the nearest hideout?" Armitage asked and the girl looked at Lynx before pushing a piece of trash away, showing an entrance.

"This way." The girl dived in first and Ben followed afterwards.

Trihorn and Armitage arrived later with Lynx arriving much later. Ben wondered if she killed the mobsters but she looked relatively clean which meant that none of them got hurt that terribly. He hoped that was the case because they had done nothing wrong. The room they were in was dark and he stayed close to Armitage while Trihorn and Lynx looked around.

"Where'd she run of to?" Trihorn asked before the four of them covered their eyes from the sudden bright light.

"Alpha!" The little girl called and Ben grimaced at the gentle tone, knowing a lot about love and hated it.

"Mia, who are they?" Ben looked at a teen who was on a walkway, above them.

Like the rest of the thieves surrounding the five of them, this thief had a mouth cover, a black hood and pants with gloves on. He was the only one who had a cape to signify his importance within this little colony living under Tatooine. Mia, the little girl thief that had helped the four of them, took a step forward, eyes pleading and she wore a dark purple type of thief clothing instead of black.

"They are thieves, like us."

"They look nothing like thieves!" Alpha growled, gesturing to the four of them. "They're Imperials! And that one is a Mandalorian!"

"We disguised ourselves to pull off our biggest thievery yet." Trihorn protested.

Alpha narrowed his eyes, "We have a code."

"From where we come from, it doesn't exist." Trihorn countered and Ben had a very bad feeling about this, especially when some of the thieves rested their hand on the hilt of their knife.

"Alpha, baby." Mia caught his attention as she spoke, "We are just one type of thieves. The outside world doesn't know the thief's code we follow."

Alpha frowned before he let out a sigh, "Fine but we will be watching."

Ben noticed him do a small gesture which caused the other thieves to disappear into the shadows, leaving just the five of them. Mia motioned for them to follow and the four of them did, moving away the curtains to enter the room. Ben watched Mia lie down on the bed, looking... Sexy for some odd reason while she took a cigarette from the table.

"Nice save." Mia said, no longer holding the petite voice from their first encounter or the lovey dovey voice during the meeting.

"Been practicing." Trihorn smirked when Armitage looked at him curiously. "Thank you for the help."

"I doubt you needed it but I needed some entertainment. Living on the streets can make you lose your sanity." Mia shrugged, getting up and wiped off dust from her shoulders. "Now, why are you really here for? I thought the war ended."

"It has." Trihorn agreed, rubbing the back of his neck. "We're rebuilding the Empire to the First Order. We are going to retake the galaxy and bring back the Empire's rule. We came here to hire smugglers but... We got separated from the group."

Mia narrowed her eyes suspiciously before shrugging, walking past them then pointed at the vents on the far back wall. "Your exit. You're not the first to leave sight of your parents. I suggest you go back now before they leave."

Then, Mia walked away, closing the curtains and Trihorn was about to enter when Lynx held him back. "Check your pockets."

Ben widened his eyes slightly in realization and searched his pockets to find it empty. He thought about whether he dropped it mid run or something but he was still able to feel it in his pockets back then. There was only one person who could take it from him without knowing and that was Mia.

 _'Uncle Luke is going to kill me.'_ He thought with a slight pout before stomping forward only to get stopped by Lynx. "She stole it!"

"I noticed." Lynx retorted, looking at Mia who was seated beside Alpha at the makeshift throne, looking smugly.

"I have to get it back."

"In a room, full of thieves?" Lynx hissed causing Ben to move back, afraid. "We are outnumbered and I prefer not to stir up this hornet's nest. Stand back and let me handle this."

Ben did as told, standing beside Armitage while Lynx walked forward, keeping her staff on her back while Mia kept tossing his precious crystal in the air. He should have been more careful around these thieves to be honest and it was a mistake on his part. He wasn't adept in the force yet and he definitely didn't know how to use his force senses that well. Uncle Luke was supposed to teach him yesterday but then his father came and was forced to postpone it.

"You have to give more than that." Mia said, breaking through Ben's thoughts.

There was only a blaster on the table while Lynx's staff was on her back but she stood firm. "I suggest you accept unless you want a room full of blood."

Mia gave a chuckle, tossing the crystal to Lynx. "You sure know how to negotiate, Lynx or shall I say, Bloodstreak? That is your Bounty Hunter name."

"Watch your tongue, thief. The same fate may fall upon you." Lynx warned, turning around to the exit.

Ben opened his hand for Lynx to drop the crystal but she didn't. "Not yet. We need to escape first."

Ben, however, couldn't wait that long and tried to force pull the crystal but it only resulted with the edge of a staff to his neck. Trihorn and Armitage pulled her arm back but it was like tugging at a brick wall. Ben gulped fearfully while staring at his own reflection as Lynx's dark visor didn't allow him to see through it.

"You have my word." Lynx finally muttered, nearly making Trihorn fall on his arse as he had tried to pull her back.

Lynx was the first to leave before Armitage did with a worried look on his face. Afterwards, Trihorn gave Ben a shrug, climbing out and then the young boy did so, hearing Mia chuckle darkly in the background. He knew that she must know what was going on in that blood stained Mandalorian mind. He couldn't actually tell if Mia was force sensitive because it kept disappearing and reappearing constantly, much to his annoyance. When he finally made it out of the vent, Lynx, Trihorn and Armitage were arguing a few meters in front of him and it was about the crystal.

"Don't you know? This is a kyber crystal! Like the one a Jedi uses!" Lynx growled, noticing Ben at the exit so she pointed the end of her staff to his neck. "Where did you get this?!"

Ben raised his hands, just to be safe while Trihorn tried to persuade her, "Come on, we've got other work to do."

What none of them expected was for Lynx to use the other end of her staff to hit his jaw.

Armitage gasped in surprise, "Tri!"

"Shut it!" Lynx roared at Trihorn, ignoring Armitage's glare while she continued questioning, "Where did you get this?!"

 _'Desperation and fear.'_ Ben gulped again, his breathing quickened while he looked for a way out. "I- I got it as a present."

"Where?!"

"Lynx! Stop this right now!" Armitage ordered but it was no use as she was intent on finding out.

"Where?!" Lynx pushed down the staff to Ben's throat, constricting a bit of air flow.

"I-. The Crusty Diner! The Diner!" Ben relented, his fear heightened and Lynx dropped him to the ground after the confession.

The crystal was tossed in front of him and he quickly grabbed it, cuddling it in his hands while it sang softly. He looked up to see Lynx leaving with a speed that could only be put into anger and a lust for blood. It was not a good feeling. He looked back at the other two boys to find Trihorn recovering from the hit to the jaw. The both of them looked determined though, unlike Ben.

"We have to stop her." Armitage said, watching Lynx turn the corner. "If we don't, we'll have more trouble than today was worth."

"Right." Trihorn replied, massaging his jaw before letting out a groan. "Agh, this hurts really badly."

"Save it. We need your voice." Armitage told him and Trihorn gave him a look.

"I'm afraid you're on your own this time, against smugglers." He sighed, motioning for Ben to follow them. "What does Lynx have against the Jedi anyway?"

"No clue but if we can find out, that will be good." Armitage said quickly, running out of the alley. "Ben, lead us to the Diner."

Ben reluctantly nodded, wanting to save his uncle from the menace he just angered. His young mind couldn't understand that it wasn't directed at him but at a force user aka his uncle. When they arrived at the Diner, everyone was running away from the battle that ensued on the inside. They feared for the worst when the sound of a lightsaber hummed. Ben entered the Diner first and saw his father along with his uncle fighting against the Mandalorian who was surprisingly holding her ground. The force radiating off of her was fear, anger and an entirely different emotion he had yet to recognize. He noticed that uncle Luke was worried but determined while his father was just curious and confused. It was expected because his uncle wasn't the type to get any rivals for his passive nature. In fact, his uncle barely had any enemies at all with him having defeated the Empire.

"Ben!" His father shouted, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Get back!"

Lynx twirled her staff in her hands, blocking a few shots by the smuggler before rushing at Luke with a speed that matched his own. "Why are you fearful of me? Why are you afraid?"

Lynx only responded with a twist of her staff as she circled around Luke, causing him to stumble forward then he turned around only to receive the end of the staff hitting his cheek. Ben winced as even though she had not used that much force when she threatened him, it was still enough to leave a bruise till next week. Luke fell to the ground, massaging his jaw while Han kept Lynx at bay, shooting at her but the Mandalorian used her skills to block each and every shot. Then, she dashed forward to try and hit Han before getting force pushed back by Luke. However, she didn't fall and instead landed on her own two feet, twirling her staff in her hands.

"We have to end this before they arrive." Armitage said while the battle continued in the background.

"Too late for that." Trihorn whimpered when a group of troopers and two Imperials exited the back room to find Lynx fighting against the Jedi and Smuggler.

A surprised look crossed their faces before the woman nudged the man beside him and motioned towards Armitage and Trihorn. The surprised look immediately turned into a frown and Ben looked at the two older boys to find sweat on Trihorn's forehead. Needless to say, this was the group the three of them had been searching but they apparently didn't want them here. When Lynx was force pushed towards the group, the woman and man grabbed her before the troopers held her back. Ben rushed towards his father and stayed close to him while Luke kept his lightsaber at ready position against the Imperials.

"What are you doing here?" His father asked, glaring at the Imperials.

"What we do is none of your concern, General Solo." The man retorted, looking at Armitage. "Come, our work here is done."

Armitage looked at Trihorn before the both of them reluctantly walked towards the group who used the back exit to leave. Luke narrowed his eyes when the Mandalorian tried to get out of their combined grip, a taste for blood ever present in the force surrounding her. He wanted to help her but she was with the Imperial remnants which would make it difficult.

"Well this has been eventful." Ben turned his head to the left to see Mia climbing out of the hole in the diner. "I didn't expect that to happen."

"Did you find out anything about them?" Luke queried and Mia shrugged.

"Their shuttle, despite being easy to get into was difficult to extract information. The boy did a good work, hiding any valuable information of their task." Mia explained before seeing Ben. "Well hello."

"Who are you?" Han questioned, glancing at Luke and Mia.

"Her name is Mia, a thief of the underworld. She owes me a few favors for saving her life." Luke replied, looking back at the girl. "How do you know Ben?"

"It may seem unrelated but I may have gotten him in trouble while he was conversing with the Imperials. I helped him by hiding him along with the two boys and Mandalorian in the den before forcing them to leave." Mia gave a mock salute before entering the hole again and going into hiding.

"What were you doing with those Imperials anyways?" Han asked Ben who shuffled his feet.

"I was just exploring when they entered the same alley I did, yelling about being lost." Ben answered and his father frowned before letting out a sigh.

"I'm going to be off world for a while. Luke will take good care of you and train you." Han said, leaving the room with Chewie who had just entered.

The Wookie protested in leaving but Han gave no room for debate and left. Ben looked at the ground, feeling disappointed and lonely but followed his uncle back to the Jedi Temple. There, other children noticed him and tried to get close but they would try too hard which would usually deter him from them. He would escape and hide in his room, hoping that they would go to sleep so that he could start training by himself. He always did that while living with Luke because unlike the two boys, the Mandalorian or Mia, he could read their open minds which reeked betrayal and attention grabbing. Despite all of Luke's trainings, the children were still corrupted beyond belief.

At nightfall, when every single youngling went into their own rooms and Luke was too busy elsewhere, Ben took the chance to enter the training room. He was thankful for the silence and loneliness as it allowed him to focus on his training. Grabbing a makeshift lightsaber from the weapon rack, he activated one of those training droids and started deflecting the shots. It took a while before he reflected a hit back to the droid but when he did, a smile formed on his face. He turned around quickly and aimed his lightsaber at the intruder when a giggle echoed in the room. He narrowed his eyes when he saw a silhouette in the distance before pointing his saber at the silhouette, the light emitted from it revealed Mia with a smile on her face.

"What are you doing here?" Ben questioned because Luke's Jedi Temple was actually quite far from the town.

"I came for a visit." Mia said, her voice sounding nonchalant. "I can come here any time, you know. Your uncle said that I could."

"How do you know my uncle?" He asked.

"I stole his lightsaber and ran away from him only to bump into a crime syndicate. He saved me from them and ever since then, I owe him my life." She explained, poking the training droid that was still hovering around.

"Where are your parents?" He asked again but she shook her head, looking at him with both her hands in her pockets.

"One for one. Why are you here?" She queried and he sighed, raising his lightsaber up in defense to continue training.

"I'm training with uncle Luke." He replied, deflecting a shot. "I am going to be a Jedi."

"I sincerely doubt you are." She deadpanned and he frowned, stopping the training once again.

"Do you have a problem?"

"Yeah. For one, you are training against a droid who can feel no emotion or pain. Two, they aren't that difficult to destroy."

"Prove it, then." He huffed, passing the lightsaber to her.

"Gladly." She smirked, grabbing the lightsaber and stood at the ready.

After two successful deflects, she sliced the training droid in half before returning the lightsaber back to Ben whose jaw had dropped. Mia let out a chuckle while Ben recovered from the display, looking away as he felt embarrassed and jealous. He was also amazed at how Mia was just able to grab that lightsaber and destroy the droid like it was nothing.

"How did you do that?" He asked, accepting the lightsaber.

"Secret." She whispered with a smile. "Although, if you follow me tomorrow, I'll show you."

"After that display, you bet I will." He smiled and she gave a salute before running in the direction of town.

 _'Oh, what I would do to be able to learn that move.'_ He thought while returning back to his quarters to get some rest.

He would need it tomorrow.

 **The Thief**

The journey back to town was actually not that far. Well, to Mia it wasn't that far because she was adept at one singular force power.

Force speed or force dash as it was commonly referred to.

She used this power ever since she was little and although has felt it's setbacks, it hasn't affected her... Much. In fact, she spent most days resting either underground in the den or on the rooftops at night. It helped dull the pain but she knew it was still there which would be prominent every time she used the power. She had a feeling however, the more she used it, the more her body will be used to the sap in energy and soon, there won't be any setbacks when she does use it constantly.

That was her hope.

Right now, she climbed to the rooftop of her favourite building which was the Crusty's Diner. It was a rather tall building as the second floor held extra rooms for guests to live in - mainly bounty hunters, smugglers and pirates. She knew the Imperials had a space nearby, a motel that was decent enough for them to live in. She wondered what was going on with them for the smuggler party was beginning tomorrow. Today was just the introductions. A presence in her mind set her on edge and mental walls slammed down to cover the more important information. She was an agent alright.

A double agent.

 _'Report.'_ Her master ordered, voice commanding and devoid of emotions.

Mia looked at the stars while she slowly showed him a video of what occurred today. This was her usual report. While staring at the stars, she would give him a video of what Ben had been doing for the day. A video as in the memory of the event which would usually be Ben training in the academy. At the end of it, Snoke let out a hum although anger was palpable towards the two boys and the Mandalorian.

 _'Good work.'_

 _'What do you plan to do with them, Master?'_ Mia questioned, referring to the three children.

She knew Snoke could sense her curiosity so she didn't have to explain about the reason, _'They will be handled as see fit.'_

Mia only gave a nod and felt him disappear from her mind. She enjoyed the silence that ensued although the silence didn't last long with a gang war in the distance. She closed her eyes at that, ignoring the screams and cries of those who lost their friends. She was just thankful that her work as a thief didn't condone such brutal means.

It wouldn't be good for her pacifistic nature.

* * *

A.N. If you guys haven't watched the Last Jedi second trailer, I suggest you don't because it feels like they've spoiled everything and you can rearrange the scenes to get the gist of the story. Although the Porg... I have mixed feelings about it.


	9. Chapter 8

A.N. So... The Phasma book says that she conspired with Armitage to kill Brendol but... I guess this will be a full AU then. His father will still die since canon states it that way but otherwise, this is now an AU.

* * *

 **The Admiral**

Sloane knew the General could not control his temper. It was evident once they were safe in their room in the motel.

"I told you not to follow!" Brendol roared, slamming the table to release some of that anger.

She also knew that would not do with these children, "Brendol. Leave us."

The General looked at her, albeit surprised although that was all covered. He gave a growl before leaving the room, opting to find something else to do instead. Sloane waited until Brendol's footsteps could no longer be heard before she turned towards the younglings. Fear, annoyance and nonchalance could be felt in the air even though she wasn't a force sensitive. Speaking of force sensitive, the Supreme Leader decided to make mental contact with her.

 _'I see the younglings are with you.'_

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Sloane questioned, the tense air getting denser by the second.

She wanted to punish them but she wasn't sure of the best way to approach it. Maybe Armitage would learn but Trihorn and Lynx were… Stubborn to say the least. It was expected for the Mandalorian but Trihorn? Sloane had to take into account his heritage and the fact that they are still unsure who his parents were. At this point, she was willing to bet that they were smugglers but she had yet to pull out evidence of it being so.

 _'His necklace. We did confiscate it.'_ Snoke reminded and Sloane put a mental note to check it once they return back to the fleet.

It was somewhere in her office.

"We were curious, sir." Trihorn finally spoke up, shuffling his feet. "We've never seen anything outside of the vessel and we wanted to experience what it feels like being on a planet. I'll admit, it took me an hour to adjust to the gravity."

 _'A good reason.'_ She mused. _'Experience.'_

 _'Yet, if they were to continue, they would disturb the work of my agent on the boy.'_ Snoke hissed, warningly causing Sloane to rethink the situation.

"A punishment is still due for disobeying direct orders from your superiors. I am especially disappointed with you, Armitage." She looked at the red head who visibly flinched.

That won't be good for the future. However, all those tiny details aside, there was still the punishment to be set.

"Once we return to the fleet, none of you are allowed to see each other outside of work, period." She said and surprised looks crossed over their faces with Trihorn wanting to protest but she cut him off, "This is not up for debate. Have you forgotten that this isn't your first offence?"

Trihorn closed his mouth tightly before he looked at the ground, shoulders slumped. Lynx showed no emotions of displeasure but she seemed fine with being separated from the two of them. Armitage looked fine but Sloane knew that he wasn't because she was taking away his only friend. It was necessary though because if the boy was influenced by Trihorn's mischief and nonchalant self, needless to say the future of the Order won't be bright.

"Now, get some rest the three of you. Tomorrow, you will need to be extra careful around smugglers and any thieves that come around." Sloane ordered and the three of them nodded which allowed her to enter her room while they would share the couch or floor.

 _'He knows.'_ Snoke muttered, anger replaced with interest. _'The boy managed to piece the puzzle to your order.'_

 _'He's much smarter than we let on.'_ Sloane agreed, staring at the door. _'Are we certain he should remain a pilot or should he replace me when he's old enough?'_

 _'The idea of having a less than disciplined officer running the Order is… Unpleasant.'_

 _'True but I have no doubts that the boy will grow mature as time passes.'_

 _'We shall see.'_ Snoke said while his presence disappeared from Sloane's mind.

She gave a sigh and sat down on the bed, her hands reaching for the communicator in her ear as she contacted the General.

"Brendol, you may return but do not disturb them." She said and heard the man grumble on the other end.

He was still angry, that was for sure.

"Why did you send me off in the first place?" He asked once he entered the room and closed the door softly behind him, something she wasn't sure he could achieve in his current state.

"You were not able to control your temper and I would have preferred if you didn't start lashing out at them." She replied tiredly, as if having repeated the same sentence.

"So, you assumed." He sighed, crossing his arms over his chest while leaning against the closed door. "I'm still furious with them."

"I've come to the decision to separate them until Armitage is old enough to not get influenced by Trihorn's mindset. It is completely different and must be contained." Sloane said then looked up at Brendol who looked at her curiously, "You will be personally training him for his mind is near impenetrable."

Brendol pressed his lips together but knew not to disobey her orders unless he wanted to be humiliated, "And what of Armitage and Lynx?"

"Armitage will be self-studying and I will be there to guide him. Lynx will still be training, now more personally, with the trooper who is in-charge of her." She explained, looking out the window at the end of her sentence. "My only hope is that it will keep them apart. If it doesn't, then they will become an inseparable group of mischief and destruction which will not do for the future of the First Order."

"I don't see that as a bad thing." He muttered and she finally took notice of his head being near the door. "Once we instill command within Armitage, he will lead them. Trihorn is intelligent and can provide useful tactics once he learns them. Lynx is a powerful warrior and she will protect them much better than any trooper can."

"We have yet to find out her allegiance. Is she truly a part of the Order now?" She questioned and the corner of his lips twitched ever so slightly downwards, face turning into a frown.

"She hasn't admitted it yet. Other than that, the three of them are planning something." He said, motioning with his head towards the door. "We should intervene."

"I suppose so." She sighed, getting up from her surprisingly comfortable bed to follow Brendol out the door.

Apparently, they caught them in the act as Trihorn was by the exit while Armitage and Lynx just got up from their seats.

"Where do you think you're going?" Brendol queried, a frown on his face while Trihorn's jaw parted slightly.

"Uh," The blue haired boy gulped before looking at the ground. "We were going to… Explore the town together."

"At night? The dangers are too great for you to go on your own!" Brendol yelled and Sloane put a hand on his shoulder, telling him to tone it down. "There are bounty hunters, smugglers, pirates, thieves and even crime syndicates are going to war with each other."

At the end of the sentence, screaming and yelling could be heard outside which told them a gang war was occurring. Trihorn gave a sigh and took a step forward to go back to bed when Armitage stopped him, his eyes holding something akin to a trapped animal ready to attack. Sloane knew that wasn't a good sign as it meant that the boy was already influenced with Trihorn's more rebellious nature.

"Father, didn't you say that the best way to learn is through experience? How are we to learn if we don't experience anything together? You did say that Trihorn is to listen to my every command. How is he going to do so if he doesn't learn that now?" Armitage hissed and Sloane noticed Lynx and Trihorn glancing at each other.

This seemed more of a father and son fight than a General and a Lieutenant. A tense silence settled over them while Sloane thought over the options. Brendol had told her that the pilot was to take orders from the younger Hux. It was something they had agreed on a day before. It was also the only reason why she had been slightly stunned by the revelation of Armitage calling Trihorn his friend. It had been unexpected and should have been impossible to achieve. Then again, Armitage didn't have a trusted friend within Arkanis.

"We are going out - with or without your permission." Armitage stated, voice full of resolute.

"You have guts, for the wrong reason." Brendol almost growled but managed to squish it down. "If anything were to happen to you, they will get it."

Armitage gave a curt nod before grabbing Lynx's hand while Trihorn walked out the door, almost too eagerly. When the door closed shut, Brendol gave a sigh and shook his head. Sloane removed her hand from his shoulder and took a look outside the window once again to see the same girl still on top the Diner that was opposite from their position. Something just told her that the girl played an important role but she pushed that thought away as a gut feeling, something she had never followed on purpose.

"We should get our rest. Smugglers are not easy to persuade with our lack of money." She reminded the General who reluctantly nodded.

This was troubling indeed.

 **The Young Hux**

Armitage didn't know what came over him to defend them like that but… He had and he wasn't too sure of the feeling that came after. However, he didn't dwell on that thought when they entered a bar near the edge of town and it was jam packed with Smugglers, Bounty Hunters and Pirates. He almost wanted to turn his back on all these savages but Lynx pulled him in to the back where there was no one there but an empty booth. She pushed him in before Trihorn took a seat beside him and Lynx on the opposite side.

The music blasting overhead was starting to annoy him but Lynx and Trihorn seemed to be enjoying themselves, much to his dismay.

"Loosen up, Taj!" Trihorn yelled over the noise, "We came here to party, remember?"

"Yeah, party." Armitage grumbled, his mind still in disbelief of what had transpired back in the room.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't hear Lynx calling him until she snapped her fingers in front of him. It was then he noticed a Kajain'sa'Nikto, sitting beside her with his blaster on the table while Lynx's own staff was above the blaster. Armitage glanced up at her before putting his blaster on the pile, Trihorn following suit when Lynx motioned for him to do so. The waiter took that into account and dropped four glasses in front of them. The only problem was that the glasses were only filled with a drop of water, he assumed.

"What is this?" He questioned while Lynx took off her helmet.

He had never seen her without it so the fact that she did, stunned him slightly.

"This is Port in a Storm!" Lynx giggled and Armitage broke out of his trance, if only to look at the other individual on the table.

He didn't even have to ask as the other spoke, "I'm Rinnrivin Di and I suggest you take the sip."

Armitage looked at his drink, glancing at Trihorn who did the same before the four of them picked up their glass in sync.

"Cheers!" Lynx and the Nikto yelled before they gently hit their glasses against each other.

Armitage watched as Lynx and the Nikto swallowed the drop, their faces turning from displeasure to immediate giddiness. Armitage glanced at Trihorn again to find the boy had watched them swallow it like he had. So, with a nod, the both of them swallowed their drink. Despite it being a drop, Armitage could feel the burn of a thousand acids in the back of his throat and his face contorts into displeasure for a second. He shook his head, the immediate action making his world spin before he looked at the other three with a smile that was not his own. Trihorn looked the same way before the four of them started laughing, Armitage's more logical mind shouting at him to control himself. However, it was lost when they went out into the dance floor.

That was when all hell broke loose.

Everything passed by like a blur and when he woke up the next morning, he found himself seated on a chair near the bar table. His head hurt like there was no tomorrow even though he had only drunk a single drop… Or maybe he did two? He couldn't remember anything that happened the night before but he did know that his weapon was still on the booth. In fact, none of the weapons were touched and despite Lynx's staff being something of high value in the black market, it wasn't stolen which made no sense to him. Although, with the intense headache settling in his mind, he decided not to think about it and looked at his surroundings.

Trihorn was sprawled on a table not too far from him while Lynx was cuddling with someone in one of the booths. The both of them were still asleep, much like everyone else in the bar. He decided to scan the different weapons on the counters and much to his surprise, he even saw Han Solo passed out in one of the booths. He tried to growl but that only intensified his headache and he realized that he won't be able to do anything for the next few days. He turned around to see the bartender placing a glass of water in front of him and Armitage raised an eyebrow.

"Drink. It will help." The man said and Armitage, having nothing else to do, drank it slowly before realizing that he was severely thirsty.

He started coughing once he took two gulps before looking around the room once more, "What time is it?"

"It's nearly nine in the morning. You and that little friend of yours have set a record." The bartender said and Armitage tilted his head at him curiously causing him to elaborate, "Firstly, not many can handle a drop of Port in a Storm, let alone children like you. Secondly, no one wakes up this early after drinking that beverage."

"I can see that." Armitage mumbled, letting out a groan while standing up, holding onto the chair when he started swaying.

He wanted to collapse back and fall asleep but his father was probably questioning his whereabouts at this current moment so he had to report back. Taking a deep breath, he started walking or more like stumbling his way to Trihorn, nearly falling on his face when he tripped on his own two feet. He had to put both of his hands - palms facing downwards - on the table to support himself when he reached his destination. One hand went to grip the side of his head while he tried to blink the pain away.

He really was going to be out of commission for the next few days.

"Tri, wake up." Armitage said, shaking the younger boy's arm.

Trihorn let out a groan but didn't get up, opting to push the other boy away instead.

"Five minutes." He mumbled, voice slurring.

Armitage let out a hiss before looking at Lynx and walked towards her. He no longer cared how dumb he looked, stumbling like a drunken person but he was determined to get these guys to wake up. Just as he was about to tap her, Lynx suddenly pounced on him and he fell on his back, head hitting the ground which only intensified the pain. He was lucky that there was a space in between the two pirates still sleeping soundly beside him or else they would have been rudely awakened. He opened both of his eyes to see into Lynx's own and saw pain laced with fear and anger, the same look when she fought the Jedi.

"Lynx, it's me." He said which was the wrong move when he felt pressure on his neck from a knife in her hands, enough to draw blood.

The haunted look in her eyes then cleared and she blinked, moving back. She didn't go that far though as she was suddenly by his side when he sat up.

"You're hurt." She stated and he touched his neck, bringing it away when it stung to see blood on his hands.

"My father won't be too happy with this revelation." He sighed which stopped abruptly from the pain.

"I know a place." Lynx muttered, about to walk away when Armitage held onto her arm tightly.

"I think I deserve an answer for this." He said, pointing at his neck.

Lynx narrowed her eyes before she turned her head ever so slightly to the left and Armitage followed her gaze to see a Weequay seated in a booth close to them. The Weequay had a black and blue jacket, white inside t-shirt, brown pants and a yellow head band. There was a smile on his face, the kind that only an experienced pirate could achieve which meant something along the lines of mischievous activity.

"Save your breath." Lynx glanced at Armitage before looking at the Weequay. "I've completed your bounty. Where is my payment?"

Armitage glanced at the man in the booth in front of him, blood staining the couch under the dead body.

"My, my. Such an eager individual." The Weequay let out a _'tsk'_ and tossed a small device to Lynx who caught it. "I know you're hiring savages to do your dirty work." The pirate said, looking at Armitage. "I can assist."

Armitage narrowed his eyes at that because he didn't trust pirates. In fact, the Weequay was shady and he was sure the pirate had an ulterior motive… He was very sure with the smile he keeps giving, showing his pointed teeth. Armitage looked at Lynx who had a neutral look on her face. He wanted her to give some advice seeing as she had worked with this pirate before but she didn't say a thing.

"You are desperate, no?" The pirate spoke again when there was only silence which lasted too long for his liking. "Desperate enough to come to our territory and ask for assistance among the smugglers."

 _'Ugh, hate to admit that he's right.'_ Armitage thought bitterly, his headache didn't help his current situation.

"What do you want?" Armitage asked and the Weequay smile widened.

"Credits but since you're in a pickle, we can offer our services for free at the start. It's a good deal, yes?" The pirate said and Armitage thought about it, glancing at Lynx who had her eyes narrowed.

"No, it isn't." Armitage replied, standing up before holding onto Lynx for support. "You're a pirate. You don't keep your promises but, there might be a use for you in the future once we have established a stable way to earn credits."

"Well played." The pirate smiled, this time genuine while motioning for the other pirates around them to stand down. "My services will always be open to you."

Armitage gave him a nod before looking at Trihorn who let out a loud yawn while stretching. Lynx moved to grab her staff and their blasters while Armitage walked out, Trihorn following suit after finding his balance. When they stepped out, Armitage had to blink a few times to adjust to the new light which was too bright for his liking. Despite it being early, the sun was already burning down on him which didn't help his current hangover state. He was guided by Lynx who grabbed his hand as well as Trihorn. They walked down the crowded street before entering a building not too far from their motel and the Diner. He wondered why the smugglers were holding a meeting in there but decided not to dwell on that thought when he was placed on a bed and a droid walked out of the back to tend to his neck.

"Droid, I need the wound to heal instantly with no evidence of it being there. What do you have?" Lynx questioned and the droid let out a buzz, similar to a hum.

"We have a bacta tank but that would cost five thousand at most." The droid replied and Lynx looked at the small device the pirate gave before nodding at the droid.

"Five thousand it is. I will fetch the payment right now." Lynx said then looked at Trihorn. "Make sure no one comes in."

"Roger that."

Armitage gulped when the droid brought him to a room with the bacta tank. He had never been in one so he was nervous at what was going to happen. He had heard of its effects from reports and it was something he didn't know if he wanted to experience. The droid ordered him to remove his clothing and after a bit of hesitance, since Trihorn was in the room with him, he took off his uniform and pants to feel the heat of the outside world on his skin. The droid then injected a sedative when he noticed that Armitage wasn't going to calm down.

It wasn't enough to send him to sleep but it was enough to make calm his nerves and enter the tank after doing some much needed preparations. With the combined effort of his lightheaded mind and the hangover, Armitage felt himself floating within the tank. The bacta was slimy and weird but it had its effects and soon, he was enjoying the soothing feel while it healed his neck. Without even realizing, he closed his eyes and his breathing became slower as he slowly fell asleep.

 _Laughter echoed around him in the dark world. A sweet laughter, one that his mind said it belonged to Lynx which was odd as he had never heard her laugh. Even in the two months of them having their lunch and dinner together with Phasma, in their silly banter, she had never laughed once._

 _'Isn't this fun?!' Trihorn yelled but his form didn't appear in the darkness, only his voice and the ones that followed._

 _'You have to do this.' Lynx said._

 _'There's no time!' Phasma's voice was next before an officer he didn't recognize spoke,_

 _'The weapon is nearly complete.'_

 _'Fire!' And this was his own voice… Slightly deeper but definitely his._

 _Suddenly, a bright red light engulfed his vision._

 _'General!'_

 _Two pale blue eyes opened in the red light, staring right back at him with a wisdom and secrecy he had never seen before._

He woke up with a twitch of his hand, heart beating wildly in his chest. He soon realized that he was no longer in the bacta tank and was lying down on a bed. He slowly sat up, tenderly rubbing his neck to find the pain had disappeared along with the wound. He smiled internally while his eyes searched the room for any sign of Lynx or Trihorn.

Neither were in the room.

Frowning, he got out of the bed, legs wobbling slightly causing him to use the bed for support. He wondered how long he had been out for and looked at the clock beside him.

 _'Kriff.'_

It was still nine o'clock alright… At night. The bacta tank knocked him out for a full twelve hours and he genuinely wondered what punishment the three of them were going to receive for this. He let out a sigh, thankful for whoever that had dressed him up put him in his uniform while walking out of the room. Lynx and Trihorn were asleep on the waiting room couch, the older girl with a hand wrapped around the young boy protectively while her staff was on her lap.

A wave of envy rushed through him before he pushed it aside and approached them but Lynx was already awake as she looked at him.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Refreshed." Armitage replied, rubbing his left hand with his right. "Did my father raze the town to the ground yet?"

"Oh, you wish." Lynx chuckled slightly, nothing similar to the sweet laughter Armitage had heard in his dream. "If he had, we would be dead but no, he hasn't. We haven't seen them at all."

"Did something happen?" He tilted his head slightly, fear rising before it was replaced with relief when she shook her head.

"If it did, I wouldn't be here. I would be there defending them because we are close to the Diner. If any fights were to occur, I can hear it." She said before proceeding to wake Trihorn up.

"Wha-?" The blue head looked around frantically then let out a yawn and stretched. "Remind me never to drink alcohol again."

"Hm, pity." Lynx huffed, standing up and was about to walk out when Armitage stopped her.

"You haven't given an explanation." He reminded and Lynx visibly tensed.

"Explain what?" Trihorn queried, glancing between the two of them before his mind pieced the puzzle itself. "Oh…"

When Lynx didn't say anything after a five-minute silence, Armitage asked, "What happened to you that caused such an effect?"

"I'm not sure if we should ask…" Trihorn muttered when Lynx clenched her fists before she turned around, her helmet hiding her emotions.

"It was my third mission with my clan. Our target was a dark Jedi terrorizing a small town. I was six back then with nothing but my wits and my father to guide me in the mission. The Jedi was supposedly approaching from the East so they left the young ones on the West side of town but… The Jedi came from the West." Lynx took a pause, trying to collect herself as her fear and anger was spiraling out of control.

"I had been playing with my cousins and… They ran away when the Jedi appeared. I couldn't run so I sat there, crying in fear while the Jedi loomed over me. The Jedi was about to strike me down but my father arrived just in time to carry me to safety." She ended it there, her fists unclenching before she turned around and walked out.

"Traumatized." Trihorn stated after a minute of silence in the room. "Yet, she didn't show any fear when fighting that Jedi."

"I don't know but I'd much rather focus on finding my father now."


	10. Chapter 9

**The Apprentice**

That night at exactly eight o-clock, Ben entered the town to find Mia waiting for him. Mia was eating a chocolate bar, one that she finished in a bite and threw the wrapper away. Then, she climbed the building and Ben followed her, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. He didn't know where they were going but he hoped to find something to do for the night or else it would have been a wasted journey for him.

"What will we be doing?" He asked, perching on the edge of the building although he actually didn't dare to go further than that like Mia was doing.

"You will be distracting those hooligans." Mia said, pointing at the group below.

Ben looked at said group to see about ten different species mingling with each other, playing something. He thought one of them looked like Uncle Calrissian but he wasn't sure about it.

"Are you sure? This seems… Dangerous." Ben muttered, taking a step back.

"Dangerous or not, I'm wanting to gauge how good you are before I begin your real training." She stated then added with a smirk, "I am also craving for a bit of thrill."

He looked at the group again, a seed of doubt planted in his mind. "I'm not sure, Mia."

"Fine, we can find something easier." She huffed. "Could find you a kiddy pool or something for being a coward."

"I'm not a coward." He spat, eyes narrowed at her before he jumped down without regard.

He landed on the table, knocking most of the occupants back before making a run for it as they started chasing after him. He suddenly realized that this would be the worst idea he had ever done but continued running away from the angered group behind him. He slid past a corner before bumping into someone and fell on his arse, groaning at the pain and looked up to find himself staring into the eyes of an Imperial. The same Imperial who had been in the Crusty Diner.

"Get him!" Ben was suddenly reminded of the group and was about to run for it again when four stormtroopers moved past him to fire at the group of hooligans.

He was grabbed by the Imperial who held onto him tightly while the troopers dispatched his chasers. Ben fought against the grip, unable to use force push as these guys were bigger than him and he hadn't mastered it fully yet.

"Stand still, child." The man ordered but Ben refused to listen.

"Let me go!" He yelled, continuing his struggle before Mia landed gracefully behind him.

"Let him go, General." She commanded, much to everyone's surprise.

"And who are you to order me?" The Imperial growled but suddenly, he released Ben and started walking away, shame and anger flowing off him in waves.

Ben rubbed his arm where the Imperial had held before looking at Mia and muttered, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." She smiled softly, "I didn't expect them to still be here."

"Why are they here?" He asked curiously, tilting his head at the Imperials who were now turning the corner.

"Looking for some smugglers to hire but they didn't succeed." She shrugged before motioning for him to follow. "Come, I want to show you something."

He followed her once again and this time, they went to the other side of town, far from the Diner or the bar that the other three children went into. This part of town was quieter at night with nothing but Tooka's running around, scavenging for food. Ben looked at the buildings around him which were all abandoned, he realized before looking back at Mia.

"Zeta! I brought a guest tonight!" Mia yelled and Ben noticed the teen on one of the rooftop buildings, looking down at them.

"Proceed." Zeta said, voice full of command yet gentleness was also present.

Ben kept his gaze on Zeta before looking forward when they arrived at an open space, free from any of the buildings previously mentioned. There were other children here, some with daggers while some held swords or knives. There was only one of them with a lightsaber and he was using it sparingly against another thief who was using a whip.

 _'That's interesting.'_ Ben mused, glancing at Mia when she chuckled.

"Mia!" A small girl rushed towards them and Mia pulled this girl into a hug.

"How's my little sister doing?" Mia questioned and the girl let out a giggle.

"I learned how to steal from Alpha!" The little girl squealed and Ben looked up when a teen entered his peripheral vision.

Alpha had a scarf to cover his mouth but he lowered it when Mia came up to him and planted a kiss on his lips. Mia had to tip toe to be able to reach him but she didn't mind and Alpha seemed to enjoy it all the same. Although one thing was for certain, Alpha's scrutinizing gaze never left Ben's form for a second.

"Why is he here?" He asked Mia who smiled.

"He wants to learn combat." She said, voice sickly sweet.

The kind that will usually get what it wants.

"Injure?" Alpha queried with a smirk and Ben gulped at the implications.

"Not break." Mia whispered taking several steps back with her little sister.

"Fine by me." Alpha grinned, taking out a stick from his back which turned into a scythe when the blade showed up.

Ben gulped once again and summoned his lightsaber, igniting it in his hands. He was quite surprised when Alpha didn't falter but couldn't dwell on that thought when the teen struck with a speed that was unhindered by his large weapon. Ben tried to block the attack but Alpha pulled a feint and used the other end of his scythe to hit his jaw. Ben gave a yelp, falling to the ground and rolled his jaw at the pain.

This was definitely not what he was used to.

"Get up, we're not done." Alpha ordered and Ben slowly rose from the ground, pulling back into a stance. "I won't go easy on you and you shouldn't do so on me."

Ben nodded at that and this time, Alpha allowed him to strike first. Ben went for a horizontal swing, aiming to slice his head but Alpha ducked under the simple strike and swept his feet causing Ben to fall on his side with a groan.

"Hm, you've got potential so let's try again. Two out of three." Alpha said, going into his stance so Ben got into his.

Ben struck first again… And again… And again, but every time he did and every time Alpha struck first, Ben would find himself on the ground with pain racking through his whole form. By morning, he was fairly certain he had bruises all over and it was going to slow him down for his Jedi training.

"You really got potential but your Jedi training is too soft on you." Alpha smirked at Ben's surprised look.

"How do you know?" Ben questioned, glancing at Mia who was playing with her little sister.

"My thieves are all spread out in Tatooine but they all report to me and me alone other than Mia who owes that Jedi her life." Alpha grumbled at that while helping Ben stand up and the Jedi apprentice nearly fell back down. "You need to heal for the day. Make an excuse."

"My uncle and father can see through it." Ben huffed, rubbing his arm after a particularly painful hit from the stick.

"The negatives of having force sensitive parents and relatives." Alpha mused before patting Ben on the back. "You're on your own. I have an organization to run."

"Wait!" Ben called when Alpha and the others who had been in this training space formed up behind him. "Are all of you force sensitives?"

Alpha gave a smile, "Yes."

"Why don't you join me in the temple?" Ben tilted his head curiously.

"We follow a code. When we trust you enough, you will learn of them." Alpha said before he was running back into town.

Ben turned his head to the left when Mia tapped his shoulder. "Are you done staring or are you going to go home?"

"Home, I guess."

 **The Pilot**

Trihorn was bored.

With what exactly?

Walking. He needed to fly. His fingers were twitching for the controls and his legs were getting lazier by the second. He needed to get back to the simulation soon or he was going to go insane.

"Where are they?" Armitage asked, concern was evident on his face.

"I don't know." Trihorn sighed, taking a seat as they rested in an alleyway. "I'm just tired, hungry and overall about to go insane if I don't get off the ground."

They had checked the motel but the receptionist told them that the Imperials or parents had checked out the morning since they didn't plan on staying longer than intended. So, the trio went to the port to find their shuttle but that place had been so crowded, they missed the shuttle entirely and didn't dare go back to check, not when there were plenty of smugglers hanging out there at night.

"Guys." Trihorn suddenly realized that today was the third and final day of the smuggling meetup and he still hadn't made a purchase. "Where are they selling the parts?"

"Middle of town, I think. Why?" Armitage queried.

"I have to buy the parts." Trihorn said, standing up from his seat slowly.

"It's going to be crowded." Lynx mumbled and Trihorn hesitated before he let out a sigh.

"Kriff, I'm too tired to care anymore." He replied before the three of them started walking to the crowded area of town.

Along the way, Armitage started to ask, "Do you guys think that we always cause problems?"

"Trihorn is the cause." Lynx immediately pointed at the youngest in the group who put a hand over his heart, acting like he got hurt.

"Wow. So blatant."

"It's the truth." Lynx deadpanned, crossing her hands over her chest. "Smugglers have a tendency to get into trouble without even trying."

"Huh, I guess we have bad luck." Trihorn mused before looking at Armitage who was looking at the ground, "Hey Taj, it's going to be fine."

"Yeah, I'm sure." Armitage sighed and Trihorn felt bad for him.

 _'He really misses his father even though they didn't have a good relationship.'_

No matter what, Armitage was still a child and Brendol was his father, despite the illegitimacy of it all and the abuse at the start. Trihorn gave a sigh and pulled his _'brother'_ closer to him for comfort. Armitage moved away, a frown on his face but Trihorn only gave a cheeky grin.

"You needed it."

"Not in public."

"Make your purchase already." Lynx growled and Trihorn got to work, his eyes scanning the items on display.

It was impressive to say the least. Some of the engines he had never even heard of and wanted to purchase but money was not by his side. He would have to choose wisely and within an instant, he made up his mind just as their Imperial _'parents'_ arrived.

"There you are!" Brendol yelled and Trihorn winced slightly as he a bad feeling rushed through his veins.

He really did have bad luck.

"We'll take this." Lynx said to the seller and Trihorn was surprised that she knew the engine he was buying.

 _'Maybe I stared at it for too long.'_ Trihorn thought before getting grabbed by one of the troopers who dragged his ass to an alley with Armitage.

Lynx came much later when she threatened the trooper to let her finish the much-needed purchase.

"Where have the three of you been, exactly?" Brendol shouted while Sloane stood behind with the troopers guarding the entrance and Trihorn knew that this was going to be one long talk.

"We got lost and when we found our way back, you were no longer in the motel." Armitage said, his voice no longer holding the sadness it did moments ago.

 _'Funny how quickly emotions can change.'_

"Then why do I smell bacta on you?" Brendol sniffed and Trihorn raised an eyebrow while Armitage, unable to stop himself blurted,

"Wait, you can smell it?"

Lynx gave a facepalm while Brendol replied, "No. I was lying but it worked. You were injured and I always keep my promises."

"Father no! It wasn't their fault!" Armitage protested when the same troopers held onto Lynx and Trihorn roughly.

"Silence Armitage!" Brendol growled, grabbing the young Hux by the arm. "You will receive your own!"

"Tri!" Armitage called, being dragged off by his father and Sloane accompanied the other two while Trihorn and Lynx didn't bother struggling against the troopers holding them still.

 _'And that's the bad luck.'_ Trihorn hissed, looking at Lynx who didn't move before asking the troopers, "What's going to happen to us?"

"We will be going back once the shuttle returns." The trooper said. "Now walk to the port."

The two of them were pushed forward roughly and Trihorn gave a huff, shoving both of his hands in his pockets. The walk to the port was silent and when they arrived at the empty hangar that used to hold their shuttle, the troopers went off to do their own thing. Trihorn sat down on the floor, his mind wondering what was going on with Armitage.

 _'Probably getting scolded.'_

With Sloane around the two, Brendol wouldn't dare hit Armitage knowing the Admiral could beat him. He pondered about what would happen to him now that he disobeyed his superiors again. He doubted his punishment would be easy now and it won't even be mediocre. He would be facing proper military punishment since he was old enough to do so.

He was not elated.

By the time a second shuttle arrived, it was night time and Trihorn had dozed off on Lynx's shoulder. The troopers who had disappeared came back and ushered the both of them in, making sure to separate them. Trihorn tried to get more nap time but the troopers apparently received orders to punish them the normal way. Together with Lynx, he had to do several push-ups and exercises as their punishment which Trihorn hated to the core. Lynx was okay with it but he wasn't.

They arrived back at the fleet and the first thing Trihorn did was collapse in his room which he was slightly surprised was still shared with Armitage. He knew that was going to change though as the day passed but… It didn't. He had asked the General for a bit of clarification but Brendol had been in a sour mood that he didn't dare try again. Although, he rarely saw Armitage despite the obvious evidence of the boy still living with him. He had also been too tired to wait for Armitage to return so the effect of his training really did not allow him to talk to the red head.

He hoped he didn't have to because Armitage would less than likely be livid by now.

 **The Apprentice**

Somehow, Ben found a way to persuade his uncle and father that he wasn't feeling well. It had been a well-crafted lie that bounced in his mind for the rest of his journey home. He spent the whole day resting, getting his much-needed rest and heal up his aching bruises before taking a shower the evening. He didn't even have to leave his room to call for Mia as the girl randomly appeared when he stepped out, looking livelier than he had ever seen.

"You might want to close your eyes." Mia smiled, holding onto his right hand while her left held the back of his neck with two fingers holding his head in place.

"Why?" Ben questioned but complied anyways.

"The effects might be…" A _'whoosh'_ sound reached his ears before he felt himself floating. "Nauseating."

Ben opened his eyes with a gasp before his legs buckled but he was caught by two strong hands. He looked up to find Alpha, holding onto him with a smile on his face since his scarf was down. Amusement was present both in the force and in his eyes.

"Mia, I thought I told you not to use that skill with others?" Alpha reprimanded the girl who shifted her feet.

"Sorry Alpha but I wanted to." Mia grinned at Ben when he turned to look at her curiously.

"What skill?" He asked, standing on his own two feet when the effect dimmed slightly.

"Force speed." Alpha sighed, taking out his staff and twirled it in his hands. "Now, have you recovered Ben Solo or are you not up for the task?"

Ben narrowed his eyes before summoning his lightsaber, "I'm ready."

"Good because after a quick spar, we will be diving into the force." Alpha said before striking with the same speed as before.

Ben proceeded to block but Alpha pulled another feint to knock him off his feet. When his head hit the ground, he suddenly realized why Alpha has been dodging getting his weapon hit. The scythe was probably not lightsaber resistant and would be destroyed by a slice. He knew how attached some people can be to their weapons so he opted not to block if Alpha is going to pull another feint and hit him. The second attack, Ben managed to surprise him by jumping over the teen and sweep his leg, causing Alpha to fall on his back.

"Good, you're learning." Alpha coughed slightly before standing back up. "One more."

Ben nodded and after a quick dodge, he went for a jab but received a hit to a jaw instead for his efforts.

"Are you tired?" Alpha asked, keeping his weapon.

"Yes." Ben answered, still recovering from the last hit. "That hurt."

"It's supposed to." He smiled and took a seat with Mia joining beside him. "I suppose you've learnt the basics?"

"Yes." Ben nodded, sitting down in front of them.

"Then, heal." Alpha ordered, closing his eyes and Ben did the same before a ruckus at the entrance disrupted their peace.

Ben turned around and was quite surprised to see his Uncle Luke walking towards him with calm strides while his father practically stomped towards him. He stood up then, walking back towards Alpha and Mia but they stood still, staring at the Jedi and the Smuggler with an impassive look.

"Return him to us now!" Han yelled and Ben gulped, wanting to disappear behind Alpha and Mia.

"Your own son chose to come here, Solo." Alpha said with an eerie tone. "Do not put the blame on us."

Luke placed his mechanical hand on Han's shoulder before stepping forward. "Ben, it's time for you to go home."

Ben whimpered slightly, not liking being given a choice at such a young age. On one hand, he wanted to stay and learn the force from the thieves surrounding him. On the other, he wanted to return home to his mother but then again, there was no guarantee she would have time for him. He hated that thought but… As a child, the comfort of a mother sound more appealing than being left alone in the unknown.

 _'Do not worry, Ben.'_ He looked towards Mia who had a rare smile on her face. _'The force is always by your side.'_

Ben hesitated then but a smile from Alpha strengthened his resolve to return back to his father. Internally, he was afraid of the beating that he was to receive from lying to them but even as they left the little training grounds for the thieves, nothing came. He knew Luke must have affected his father's choice but then again, his father wasn't even angry at him… It was directed to Luke or maybe it was the thieves? Ben wasn't sure.

"Those children running around here freely isn't safe for Ben. Not when he is this vulnerable, Luke." Han hissed and his uncle looked away at the ground.

"I know." Luke responded, voice still soft and calm. "There is nothing I can do about them."

"They are force sensitives! They are a part of your responsibility." Han jabbed Luke on the shoulder with his right index finger and despite the obvious discomfort, the Jedi showed no displeasure at the action.

"They follow a code much like you do with a creed, Han. I can't do anything about it so I let them run wild but I will keep track of them." He replied, pulling his hood up when they arrived at the _Millennium Falcon_. "Tell my sister, I said _'hi'_."

Han grumbled but otherwise nodded, "Take care of those children, Luke. I still don't understand why you wanted the temple here."

"It is safe and serene. The perfect place for children to practice." Luke smiled, kneeling down in front of Ben to ruffle his hair. "Don't fall to the dark side, Ben. Promise me."

"I promise, uncle Luke." Ben said naively, unaware that a second entity entered his mind and a third entering slightly later once Luke disappears from his sight.

 _'Oh, but the dark side is so tempting, yes?'_

"Uncle Luke told me not to." Ben muttered, following his father into the _Millennium Falcon_.

 _'Are you weak, boy?'_

"No…"

 _'Then, don't hold yourself back. Open up to the dark side and I will teach you more than he ever has…'_

Ben narrowed his eyes at that, suddenly aware of the other two entities in his mind. One of them felt familiar but it kept phasing in and out which made it hard to make out. The other was an ominous darkness that looms over him with a powerful and wise feeling to it.

"Ben, strap in." Han brought him out of his thoughts.

The two entities disappeared then, one leaving with a rather shady feel while the other with a blatant show of power. It caused him to be envious of that power, something he wanted to have within the force but currently, he didn't have due to the fact that he was still learning. He wanted that power. He wanted it and that shady feeling the other gave. He wanted to be mysterious yet powerful.

"When did you first see the thieves, Ben?" Han questioned and Ben swallowed hard.

"Ever since you arrived."

"Three days ago?" Han thought about it before frowning. "Well, the next time we come to Tatooine, I want you to stop seeing them."

"Why? They haven't done anything to me." Ben queried, tilting his head slightly but his jaw still hurts from the hit so he had to change position.

"Just, follow what I say Ben. You should always trust a Smuggler's guts." Han smirked when Ben looked away with a sigh.

 _'Smugglers.'_


	11. Chapter 10

**The Survivor**

Three years later, the _Resurgent_ -class battlecruiser, now named the _Finalizer_ , was complete and Lynx was the first to step onto it after the Admiral declared its opening. The sense of belonging returned to her while she walked down the familiar halls that she had first done with Armitage and Trihorn. At the thought of the two boys, her heart twanged which was something unexpected. She got herself attached, whether on purpose or not and usually, she knew it would be her downfall. It had been three years since she last saw them and those three years had been worry-filled for her.

Phasma also questioned where Trihorn and Armitage had gone and Lynx explained to her while training that the General and Admiral both forbid them to see each other. The battle got intense then with them releasing some unknown anger to each other. In the end, despite Lynx having an edge with her Mandalorian training, they were both equal which she found to be peculiar. Right now though, they were celebrating the opening of the new vessel and this would be the only time she would be able to see Armitage and Trihorn as the Admiral put it so clearly.

"I suggest you find them. For it might be the last time you do." Sloane told her and together with Phasma, they started walking down the crowded halls.

Everyone who was interested in the battlecruiser was on it and they were mostly troopers who would be stationed here with the officers.

She found Trihorn in the engine room which was much expected from the man who was interested in technology. Trihorn still had his famous electric blue hair that made him stand out among the grey darkness. From the looks of it, Lynx could tell that the boy had grown slightly mature now that he was fourteen years old but there was still immaturity in his eyes that would disappear once he reached adulthood. Lynx had no doubt that it would considering the General was disciplining him.

"Hey Tri." Lynx greeted and Trihorn glanced at her before standing upright at the sight of Phasma.

"H- Hey guys- I mean girls!" Trihorn stuttered with a high-pitched voice while putting his holopad away. "W- What brings you here?"

"Phasma, if you don't mind." Lynx said to the trooper apologetically.

"It's alright, Lynx. I'll be nearby." Lynx had no doubt that Phasma was smiling behind her helmet because Trihorn looked like an idiot.

"You still can't react properly around her?" Lynx questioned and the other boy gave a sigh, the hum of the engines echoing in the room.

"I wish I could. The General's teachings don't help with that."

"Speaking of the General, have you seen Armitage?" Lynx asked and Trihorn thought about it.

"I saw him in the bridge but that's crowded now so he has to be in the observatory." Trihorn answered and Lynx patted him on the back.

"I'm leaving Phasma with you." She stated and walked out, ignoring his protests.

"Where will you be going?" Phasma queried when Lynx stepped out of the engine room.

"I'll be having a short meeting with Armitage. You can stay here with Trihorn and I suggest you help him with his... Difficulty." Lynx smirked and Phasma seemed to get the idea as she spoke playfully,

"It shall be done."

##

Lynx found Armitage in the observing room after getting lost for a good half an hour. She watched him by the door while he stared out into the stars, the _Finalizer_ having left its spot in the shipyard when it was released. She knew he was staring at the other vessels, his mind working on a way to build more ships for their benefit once the war begins. She was suddenly reminded of a boy, far back when her family was still alive. A boy whom she had tried so hard to forget but never could. She was about to walk out and end that memory when Armitage's voice stopped her.

"You know you can come in." He said.

"I don't need your permission." She simply replied, deciding to walk in and stand beside the red head.

They stood in silence for a while before he turned his head to look at her. "How are you fairing?"

"A weird question." Lynx tilted her head slightly but didn't look at him. "I'm doing fine."

"You haven't had any more visits to the med bay, have you?"

"Only for check-ups. Otherwise, I have not." Lynx smiled and Armitage gave a nod, looking back out into the void.

The comfortable silence continued while the hum of electricity behind the walls were the only thing reaching their ears. Usually, Lynx hated being in the presence of someone alone but with Armitage, it was sort of soothing to her. She didn't know why but she never wanted this to end. The sense of belonging in her heart, the soothing presence beside her but alas, nothing ever last forever.

"Lynx, I don't know if I'll ever see you again so can you please, take off your helmet?" Armitage asked politely and Lynx hesitated.

Sure, she'd shown him her face before but…

"Promise me, you won't blame Phasma for this."

"Wha-?"

"Hux. Promise me." She repeated, using his last name which she had never done before.

Armitage pressed his lips together and Lynx could see his Adam's apple bounce from his nervous swallow. After a while, he slowly but surely nodded and Lynx released a sigh, her gulp resounding in the empty room. She put her hands on her helmet which still fit her so she hadn't had to make a request to the blacksmith. With a rather loud hiss, she took it off with her eyes closed, afraid of what Armitage would see of her newly healed scar.

"What happened?"

Lynx opened both of her eyes to see a surprised look on his face. However, she also saw anger in his eyes but there was nothing he could do… Not when she had already done it.

"Jock." She muttered and she knew the name ring a bell in his head as his look transpired into anger. "His first word had been revenge. His last word had been death."

At that, he tilted his head. "Elaborate."

"You should never anger a Mandalorian. His death was labelled an accident by the Admiral for I am still a valuable asset to the Order."

"When did this happen?"

"Two months ago. It was after my training with Phasma and the both of us had been too tired to be able to respond on time. She knocked him down and I did the final blow." She answered and there was a bit more silence before he spoke.

"Are you now a truly part of the order now?" He asked curiously and she stayed quiet, giving him the answer. "You're still loyal to your home."

"Home is where the heart is." She stated, slightly surprised by her response.

 _Where'd that sentimental sentence come from?_

Armitage looked at the floor before back at the other vessels surrounding them, his eyes eventually landing on the _Eclipse_. A smile formed on his face then and Lynx tilted her head.

"Yes," He muttered, voice low to not disturb the peaceful silence. "Yes, it is."

 **The Trooper**

Phasma couldn't understand this boy at all.

One minute, he would be stuttering around her and the next, he was so casual in fact that he didn't seem to have that problem. It would return though when his eyes landed on her and he suddenly remembered that she had been following him this whole time. They were basically exploring the vessel as Trihorn had special permission from the General… Except they didn't have access to more important areas. The answer to that was simple.

"When you're older, it will be open to you."

 _'I should have that permission.'_ Phasma thought bitterly.

She was still a Lieutenant and was due a promotion in six years at most. It was a long wait especially for someone who had dedicated her whole life to the Order. She knew that once Armitage became General, she would probably be promoted then seeing as she had stayed on his good side. Other than that, she was friends with Lynx whom he seemed to have some feelings for. She wasn't sure about it but by the way he was looking at her, there was evidence of the attachment.

"Phasma!" She stopped and turned around to see Lynx and Armitage walking up to them.

"Reunited." Trihorn smiled, shaking the red head's gloved hand. "Doing well in your self-study?"

Armitage raised an eyebrow at that, "You worry about me? What about you and my father's treatment?"

"Are you joking? That's nothing compared to Lynx's." Trihorn smirked, pointing towards the Mandalorian who immediately punched his upper arm. "Ow!"

"That's nothing compared to being invaded." Lynx hissed, annoyed but some fear was also laced in her tone.

"Have you told Phasma about it?" Armitage queried and Phasma gave a nod.

"A year ago, she finally found the courage to do so."

"Armitage! Trihorn!" Armitage flinched slightly at the tone before he put on a facade and faced his father, Trihorn doing the same. "It's time the both of you return. This vessel is leaving in two hours."

"Yes, sir." Trihorn said and Phasma was quite impressed with the change in his tone.

 _'Deeper, wiser and more mature.'_

She found herself liking that tone.

"The two of you," Brendol addressed Lynx and Phasma as the two boys continued walking, "Report to the training room and begin. You'll be going to your first mission in twenty hours."

"Yes, sir." The both of them saluted before watching Brendol walk down the hall, following Armitage and Trihorn to the hangar.

Lynx looked at Phasma before letting out a sigh, "There goes our little brothers."

"I'm sure they'll find a way to be stationed here." Phasma smiled, hopeful of the situation.

"Hm. Hope. Why does it always come down to that?" Lynx questioned herself while they started walking to the training room.

"It's in our nature, I suppose." Phasma mused, seeing a few cadets walking towards a separate training room that was for officers. "To have hope that we will succeed."

"Now we're being sentimental." Lynx huffed before a smile formed on her face. "But I suppose it's true."

"And the truth is all we need."

~~19 hours later~~

The _Finalizer_ was busy with troopers running into their shuttles to be transported down to the planet. Phasma and Lynx were briefed of the current event which was to steal some children for the order. Right now, they were waiting for their pilot to arrive but apparently there was some delay. Lynx tapped her feet impatiently while Phasma stood beside her, lazily scanning their surroundings to try and spot the pilot.

"I should be piloting." Lynx huffed, entering the shuttle and stood in the middle of the space. "My father taught me how to pilot one of these things."

"I'm afraid not. We're following a schedule." Phasma replied, noticing two pilots heading in their direction.

They stopped in front of her to salute and Phasma noticed that the both of them were teens, shorter than her and Lynx.

"Where were the both of you?" She questioned.

"Sorry, sir. We got lost." The left pilot answered, humor evident in his voice.

"I find nothing humorous about this current situation, pilot." Phasma reprimanded, moving away so that they could see Lynx who had her arms crossed over her chest. "If you do have a joke to share, my partner will gladly hear it out."

Lynx grabbed her staff from her back and slammed the nearby chair in one swift motion, a loud metallic clang echoed which caused the two boys to flinch.

"Uh, no sir." They immediately responded, walking in and avoided being near Lynx when they passed by her.

Phasma closed the ramp before taking a seat on the opposite side of Lynx. They stayed in that silence for a while before bursting out laughing when the door to the cockpit closed and the shuttle took off. Lynx took off her helmet, something unexpected for Phasma as she never had done so outside of being in her room or when they were eating. Phasma decided to take off her helmet as well since they were the only ones here. The pilots won't open the door until they landed so it was relatively safe.

"Well, we surely showed them not to mess with us." Lynx smirked.

"Indeed." Phasma chuckled before tilting her head. "Do you… Like that scar?"

Lynx's smirk fell as she looked away before looking back at Phasma, "Surprisingly, yes. It's… Been difficult to see but it serves its purpose."

"That is?" Phasma raised an eyebrow.

"Fear." Lynx stated, putting her helmet back on and Phasma did the same. "Mandalorians never take off their helmet so when it gets knocked off by our opponents, it usually surprises them for what's beneath."

"I see." Phasma nodded before the shuttle jerked from its rough touch down.

The both of them stood up in sync, Phasma taking the lead to open the ramp door. They walked down the ramp, seeing chaos in their vision as troopers went from house to house. There was usually a muffled blaster shot before the trooper would step out with a child in his hands. Phasma looked at Lynx to find that Mandalorian was taking this rather calmly. It was a good thing because they were going to do it once a trooper reports to her...

"Sir." A trooper stopped in front of Phasma and saluted. "We have secured thirty children and counting."

"Good." Phasma nodded, watching the trooper leave.

"They report to you?" Lynx asked incredulously.

"I am a Lieutenant." Phasma reminded. "Most troopers here are sergeants or lower."

"Mm." Lynx agreed, suddenly going quiet and Phasma followed her gaze to see a trooper holding a five-year-old boy who was crying.

"Is something wrong?" She queried and Lynx snapped out of it, scowling.

"No." She hissed, walking forward leaving Phasma to wonder,

 _'How many more traumatizing events can she take before she breaks?'_

 **The Young Hux**

Armitage narrowed his eyes while entering the med bay of the _Eclipse_ with Trihorn behind him. Laying down on the bed was Jock, missing an arm and there were puncture marks on his neck. He was definitely worse for wear and no longer had a purpose here. He glanced at Trihorn to find the boy with a smirk on his face. Jock had it a long time coming, it was just that Armitage forgot about him. He was quite surprised that the man was still breathing as he let out a cough.

"Finally." Jock rasped, his voice nearly gone and Armitage noticed Trihorn about to leave so he grabbed his arm.

"Stay. I need you to be my witness if something goes wrong." Armitage said and Trihorn gave a hesitant nod before they looked at Jock again. "What do you want?"

"What I want and what I need to say… Are two different things." Jock wheezed, moving to sit up. "It pertains the girl."

"Lynx?" Armitage frowned, glancing at Trihorn who shook his head. "What makes you think that we will trust you?"

"I'm not asking you to trust me." Jock hissed, looking away. "I'm just telling you the truth."

"I don't have time for this." Armitage growled, turning around to walk away when Jock slammed the side table with his only available hand.

"I'm telling you the truth." Jock whispered, voice going low. "I suggest Trihorn leave for this."

Armitage looked at Trihorn once again before glaring at Jock, "Like I said, he must stay."

"Fine. They plan to double cross you." Jock stated and Armitage took a step back, looking at Trihorn who had a shock look on his face.

"I'm not!"

"Then, what is this about?" Jock gave Armitage a paper and he took a look at it.

He felt his heart sink when he read the details of a plan to overtake him to become Admiral. It required Lynx to injure Jock so that he could kill him like right now. Armitage quickly faced Trihorn then when he read the last part, his eyes narrowed at the younger boy who put his hands up. Still, Armitage felt on edge, like Lynx was hiding somewhere and was about to assassinate him.

Armitage had been too betrayed to tell that the handwriting, had been too half-assed and there was a slight pressure in his head.

"I never wrote that!" Trihorn yelled but Armitage only tossed the paper to the ground.

"Are you sure?" He hissed.

"Taj, I would never betray you! We're friends, remember?!"

"Friends don't write a detailed plan to betray each other." Armitage said in a low, dangerous tone. "If I see your face again, it will be the end for you."

"Taj, listen to me!"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Armitage bellowed causing Trihorn to wince. "I should execute you for this but your talent is… It's a little too untouchable."

"Armitage…" Trihorn pleaded but the red head walked towards the door.

"You are no longer allowed to call me that. From now on, you will address me as a superior or face severe consequences." He hissed, stomping out of the room.

A buzzing sound erupted in his mind along with something or someone brushing it with their fingertips. It caused him to shiver and rush into his room, locking the door behind him when a surge of rage coursed through his systems. He punched the wall with a yell to get rid of the anger before gripping his head when the buzzing intensified.

"Get out of my HEAD!" He shouted, subconsciously questioning his current actions.

The sudden silence caused his ears to ring before he collapsed on the bed, staring at the ceiling with the feeling of betrayal in his heart. He fought back the tears that threatened to fall before he heard Trihorn's footsteps stop in front of his door. He had been staying with Trihorn long enough to tell the difference between his footsteps and someone else. Surprisingly, Trihorn had a rather soft step instead of other officers whose steps usually echoed in a quiet room.

A sigh reached his ears before Trihorn mumbled, "I'm sorry."

Armitage narrowed his eyes, wondering what was that about before he decided to get up and open the door, just in time to see Trihorn enter his room. He stared at the door before fixing his hair and walked out of the room. His mind wandered back to the image, eyes frowning while he idly walked to the communications room. When he entered, it seemed that a class was in session and the only person who looked up was one of the newbies who just started his work. Armitage walked towards him as the others were too distracted with their own.

"Ensign, contact the _Finalizer_ and request for Lynx Piro." Armitage said, careful to not show any sadness within his voice despite his heart still wrenching in pain.

The Ensign nodded, bringing up the connection with the other vessel. Armitage looked around to see the others still focused on their task. It made him wonder why this Ensign was the only one who looked up. Scanning the desk, he noticed a plaque with the Ensign's name on it.

 _'Mitaka.'_ He saved the name for later.

"She's on call." Mitaka passed the headpiece to him.

"Leave us." Armitage ordered and Mitaka saluted before stepping out. "Lynx?"

 **::You're lucky I just finished my mission…::** Lynx huffed and Armitage ignored it for the sake of his curiosity.

"Tell me the truth just as I have promised to not blame Phasma for your scar..." Armitage paused to calm his emotions down, "Did Trihorn and you plan to overtake me?"

 **::What- No! Unless Trihorn paid me, there is no way I would betray you.::**

Armitage tilted his head, glancing around to make sure his father or the Admiral wasn't around. "So, it was a test. One that we both succeeded."

 **::What happened?::**

"Nothing." Armitage sighed, running a hand through his red hair. "I wouldn't worry about it now. Also, did you say that you won't do anything unless you were paid?"

 **::I'm still a bounty hunter at heart. I'm only doing this because I can learn somethings from it.::**

Armitage moved back slightly, narrowing his eyes before sitting upright and spoke softly, "What happens once you've learnt everything?"

 **::If you pay me, I'll stay. If you don't, I'm out.::**

"And if you do leave, will you tell the New Republic about us?"

 **::I keep the identity of my clients a secret unless they want to be known.::**

Armitage thought about that in his mind. It made sense and he needed the operations of the First Order to not reach the New Republic. He needed to find a way to secure funds before Lynx finishes her training. The Smugglers have been less than happy to be working with them and without a stable way to get income, he doubted he should contact the pirate yet.

 **::Anything else?::** Lynx questioned when the silence stretched too long for her liking.

"No, that's all." Armitage nodded to himself. "Thank you for your time."

 **::Huh, Phasma's going to kill me.::** She huffed and he gave a smile when the call disconnected.

Armitage stood back up and looked at the Ensign to see him waiting nervously, "Why did you stop your work?"

It took Mitaka a minute to process that Armitage was talking to him, "Oh uh… I was curious as to who walked through the doors."

"You were distracted." Armitage stated and the Ensign nodded. "Who is your commanding officer?"

"Colonel Locke, sir." Mitaka gulped and Armitage raised an eyebrow.

"Colonel?"

"I was promoted a day after the incident on planet Ravi." Armitage turned on his heel to face the Colonel. "Is there a problem, sir?"

"Hm." Armitage glanced at Mitaka. "Your Ensign was distracted but I suppose we can let it slide considering I needed to use the computer."

"Of course." Locke dipped his head slightly in respect. "His generosity shall be notified and his insubordination will be cleared."

Then, the both of them looked at Mitaka who had his mouth wide open in surprise. A second later, he shook himself out of it and thanked his two superiors. Armitage gave a nod before asking Locke to walk with him out of the room. A few minutes later, they arrived at the viewing room which was empty and it allowed them to view the other vessels in hyperspace.

"Where is Trihorn?" Locke questioned after locking the door.

"High Command separated us after our mischievous activity on Tatooine." Armitage answered, staring out of the window. "Why did you ask?"

"I quite miss teaching him. He asked valid questions and was curious to just about anything." Locke murmured. "He was rather enjoyable to have around."

"So, he is." Armitage narrowed his eyes, already wanting to change the subject. "Are you being stationed anywhere else?"

"There is this one base named Starkiller. I haven't gotten the details." Locke replied before he tilted his head. "Did your father not tell you about it?"

"No, he didn't." Armitage said, turning his head to Locke. "When are you leaving?"

"In two days. I am to finish teaching those officers before I leave."

"Tell me about them." Armitage muttered and Locke looked at him with one raised eyebrow, prompting him to explain, "I can take over them once you leave."

"Very well. The only promising student is Ensign Mitaka. He might be too shy for your liking but he is worth it. He reminds me of Trihorn, actually but the complete opposite." Locke hummed, missing Armitage's wince at the mention of Trihorn.

He really wanted to stay away from that subject until he was ready but curiosity won over him again.

"Really?"

"He is rather intelligent but it is hidden by his shy demeanour. If you can get him comfortable with you like he has with that one pilot, he will be useful."

"A pilot?" Armitage questioned, frowning at the revelation.

"Yes, his name is Mart if I'm not mistaken. GR-9671 was his given code." Locke told him before taking a step back with a salute. "If you'll excuse me, I need to return to my work before high command takes notice of my absence."

* * *

A.N. I can't get that betrayal portion correctly and it's only one that was supposed to go on for several chapters but I don't have much ideas for in between the various chapters. Might change it slightly but I don't have the time for it nor the interest to rewrite everything.


	12. Chapter 11

**The Pilot**

 _'Was it a mistake?'_

Trihorn didn't know what to think. He didn't actually believe it was going to go that far but… Well, betrayal is a powerful tool. When Armitage left, Brendol had entered the room to debrief them before Trihorn was allowed to return to his room. He had stood outside of Armitage's quarters, wanting to enter but held himself back and instead put his forehead on the door. He let out a sigh and muttered an apology before entering his own room to continue his work. He thought he heard the door to the hallway open and close but decided it was just his imagination.

3 months later, Jock was basically tossed out of the Order after they completed his replacement hand and based on what Trihorn could tell, the man was going to be a bounty hunter. He didn't believe it at first but after looking it up on the HoloNet, that was sort of true. He literally spat his drink when he saw Jock in what he can assume to be bounty hunting clothes. In fact, Trihorn thought that Jock looked more like a gangster than a hunter.

His work has also gone from chill to extremely demanding. He rarely had time to hang out in the mess hall anymore and would spend more time awake at night than usual to complete his obnoxiously difficult paperwork given by Brendol. It was the kind that made him want to scream or throw his holopad to the wall but he didn't do either. He didn't want to show any weakness to Armitage who was next door and his holopad was way too precious to destroy - he would kill himself if he broke it. He would spend most of his days in his room, old routines broken to satisfy Brendol's expectations.

Six years later, he was taking an exam with every single officer around his age. He had seen Lynx and Phasma in the trooper section which was quite easy because Lynx wore her Mandalorian armor. They had returned just for this occasion because let's be honest, everyone needed to take the exam. His only wish was that he could be with the other officers in the hall instead of being in a special room with Armitage, the General and the Admiral. It was a special treatment that he wanted to escape from but couldn't. He glanced at Armitage to find the red head fully concentrated in his work, comfortable with the situation.

He must have been staring too long as Brendol blocked his view, forcing him to focus back on his work.

Two hours later, he finished and gave the paper to the General who was standing in front of him. Brendol took it then moved to the table up front to mark it. Trihorn stayed in his seat, scanning the room lazily before looking at Armitage when he completed his work thirty minutes later. Sloane took the paper and took her seat beside Brendol, doing the same as the General. Armitage sat back in his seat, shoulders relaxing while Trihorn was still slouched forward, terribly bored but his mind was whirring in action.

He could hear TIE engines being tested and he wanted to check it out really badly.

"Well, it seems that the both of you beat record time." Brendol muttered, looking at his watch. "Ten minutes earlier than everyone else."

"Thank you, sir." Trihorn replied, voice fully mature by now.

He was nearly reaching adulthood.

"Looks like your work is successful, Brendol." Sloane smirked, glancing at Trihorn and the General before looking back at the work.

"You doubted me?" Brendol questioned, raising one eyebrow.

"Never." Sloane replied before silence resumed.

Trihorn glanced at Armitage again, seeing the red head being nervous of what the results might be. There was a total of one hundred questions on the paper, each of them pertaining to the different aspects of a military organisation. It was a way for them to know who was going to excel at which segment and sometimes, some people were better than the aspect that they wanted to be in such as Trihorn. Sure, his piloting skills were amazing but from the exam result that was given back to him another hour later, he received full marks for nearly anything militaristic and machines.

He sucked massively at politics but was decent with his social skills.

Armitage scored for his politics, social skills and anything militaristic but sucked with machines. As soon as the General dismissed them, Trihorn ran out the door, nearly knocking down the other officers in the hall as he followed his hearing to a lab of sorts. He found them testing the first ever TIE that was designed by him and he was having none of that.

"STOP!" He shouted, catching everyone's attention. "I'll test that TIE!"

"You don't have permission." A young man stepped in front of Trihorn, arms crossed over his chest.

Trihorn narrowed his eyes before speaking, "I created the blueprint for that TIE. I have every right to test it just as you have to build it, Mr."

"I don't see your name on the blueprint." The man growled, going head to head with Trihorn before moving back when Brendol arrived with his hands behind his back.

"He created the blueprint, Mr Haque." Brendol said, putting his left hand on Trihorn's right shoulder. "He is given all rights to change the design as he sees fit and test his own TIE."

"Y- Yes, sir." Haque saluted, moving away while Trihorn walked forward and looked at the beauty in front of him.

"I need the blueprints." He ordered, grabbing said blueprints that Haque gave to him and laid it out on the table.

Haque began talking to him but Trihorn shooed him away, already too lost in his own thoughts to listen to him. He glanced up at the TIE before looking back at the blueprint, making changes as time went by. Some of the changes were done by someone else and he seriously started questioning who it was because he wanted to kill that person for making dumb changes that doesn't work. After a while, he placed his left elbow on the table to support his head while his right hand placed the pen in between his teeth in a thoughtful position. He scanned through his work again, making sure everything was as flawless as it could be.

"Lieutenant."

"Hm?" Trihorn blinked out of his stare and saw Armitage in front of him.

He suddenly noticed that everyone else had left, including the General and that surprised him. Normally, he wouldn't get this engrossed in his work but he really had to make proper changes to the TIE. He didn't know why, considering he hadn't really cared about it but then again, he had a love for machinery. Also, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant four years ago. It wasn't much considering he wanted to stay as a Pilot but the General sort of forced him to do so. He let out a sigh, rubbing his temples tiredly while his eyes followed Armitage who had grabbed a chair and took a seat in front of him.

"What time is it?" Trihorn asked, fatigue rushing over him.

"Nearly three in the morning." Armitage replied, studying the blueprint.

Trihorn blinked a few times before letting out a groan. It was three in the afternoon when they finished their test which means that he had been sitting down for a full twelve hours… His legs were definitely going to hurt tomorrow. All those aside, he narrowed his eyes at Armitage who was still looking through the schematics he had finally finished.

"What are you doing here?"

Armitage glanced at him before looking at the TIE, "I have a weakness that needs to be strengthened, just like you do."

"And what makes you think I will follow?" Trihorn scoffed, shaking his head.

"Because, you owe me for that betrayal."

Trihorn raised an eyebrow at that, "Oh? What gave it away?"

"Your terrible acting." Armitage deadpanned, glaring at other teen. "I confirmed it with Lynx."

"Huh. I didn't take that into account." Trihorn mused before shrugging with a yawn. "Fine. At least we know now that your politics are on point compared to last time."

Armitage tilted his head at that. "Last time?"

"When I made friends with you and when Lynx persuaded you to go out to that bar in Tatooine." Trihorn answered with a knowing look.

"Those don't count. I was young." Armitage huffed but Trihorn's smirk caused him to move back slightly.

"Oh? Does it matter?"

"Yes. Now, tell me what this is about." Armitage gestured to the confusing schematics in front of him and Trihorn gave a shrug.

"What do you see?" He queried and the red head narrowed his eyes at the question.

"What do you mean _'what do I see'_?"

"Literally, Captain. Yes, I know you were promoted four years back and due for promotion after this." Trihorn added the last sentence at Armitage's quizzical look.

"All I see is numbers and words that I don't understand." Armitage retorted and Trihorn smiled internally when he frowned at his impassive look.

 _'The General taught me much.'_ Trihorn thought before answering, "What I see are parts, interdependent in creating a whole working system. Children, needing to be guided to their places in a workable society. You can see the second one, can't you?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with this?" Armitage once again gestured to the blueprint.

"Look at it as a whole, Captain." Trihorn smiled, pointing at one of his cursive handwriting which was a memo. "See the bigger picture before diving into its parts. What do you expect the vessel to do by the end of it? What are the specifications required? What does each part do and how does it play a part? I doubt you can get to the last part yet but-"

"The engine you bought." Armitage cut Trihorn off, his eyes narrowing slightly as he remembered looking through the purchases for the week that his father had made him analyse. "You also purchased metal and a new hyperdrive from the black market."

Trihorn's smile widened before he rubbed the back of his neck. "I still owe Lynx but yes, the blueprint that I made was just a draft. The parts that I bought was the concluding factor of what I can build."

"I see." Armitage nodded, a smile forming on his face. "I understand now."

"Good because I want to sleep." Trihorn yawned again, standing up and nearly fell on his face if he hadn't held onto the table. "Oh, goodness my legs."

"Are you alright?" Armitage queried.

"Yep." Trihorn hissed, stretching his legs. "Just don't sit down for twelve hours straight… Ow my butt."

Armitage let out a chuckle before walking forward. Trihorn followed a few minutes later, walking down the halls in a rather peaceful silence. Normally when they bumped into each other, it would be tense and fearful but now, all that negative static has disappeared. Now, it was calm like before when it was just the two of them.

 _'Close friends never stay angry at each other.'_ Trihorn mused, nearly collapsing on the sofa when they reached their room.

He managed to drag his ass into his own room and fell on his bed. He heard Armitage say something but he was too tired to care. He mumbled to the red head,

"Talk tomorrow."

Morning came much to quickly for Trihorn as his alarm clock rang an hour after he shut his eyes. He had to slap himself to get up or else he would have been stuck there on the bed. It was then that he remembered there was no lesson that day for his exam was over which caused him to groan. However, he was quite intrigued of the newcomers who were probably in the mess hall so he forced himself to get up. After spending a good, fifteen minutes in the showers, he got out and dressed himself in his uniform.

The new rank looked good on his shoulder.

"Look at you, Captain." Armitage said and Trihorn gave a smile to the other.

"Well," He glanced at Armitage's rank and was surprised by it. "It seems your rank has arrived as well."

"No doubt my father had a word in it." Armitage nodded, tracing the Colonel rank on his shoulder. "I jumped two ranks and will be General on my thirtieth birthday."

"If you can make something happen." Trihorn nodded, a smile on his face. "Say, do you want to visit the mess hall?"

"Visit?" Armitage queried, voice intrigued. "What for?"

"Scare the newbies." Trihorn stated, tilting his head slightly while the smile was still evident on his face. "I'm bored and in need of entertainment."

"Well, then. Let's not waste time, shall we?" Armitage smirked, walking out of the room and Trihorn followed.

The both of them held an aura of superiority that seem to blend into each other which caused them to smile when they glanced at each other. It was the kind of aura that also told others of how their shattered brotherhood bond had become one again. Everyone who was awake moved out of their way and Trihorn felt pride rolling off of Armitage. It was expected because Armitage wanted everyone to respect him once he took over the Order. Trihorn couldn't wait for that day actually even though he still held a little bit of grudge at his outburst.

Then again, he had to remind himself that he was the cause, not the red head.

When they arrived at the hall, there were plenty of young officers having their breakfast before they had to report to class. Most of them were around ten years old with some being fifteen years old. Trihorn glanced at Armitage who was already walking to one of the groups so he followed. Apparently, this group was a mix of officers, troopers and pilots which made him wonder how they knew each other. There was probably a change in the systems that he wasn't aware of but at least, he wasn't affected by it.

"Sir." The group suddenly sat up in attention and Trihorn wanted to smile terribly but managed to hold it back for the sake of Armitage.

It wouldn't look good if he made friends with a non-disciplined officer.

Technically, Trihorn was disciplined but every time outside of work, he found himself being immature and carefree compared to his mature and thoughtful self while at work. His mind had basically split into two and sometimes, he could hear them arguing if the room was quiet enough. It was a weird thought and he had wondered if he should get his mind checked but crossed that off the list until it got hectic. Maybe it was the stress of the exam that was getting to him.

"Introduce me to your friends, Ensign." Armitage ordered and Trihorn tilted his head when the Ensign gulped.

Trihorn's hands were immediately on his holopad while the Ensign spoke, "This is Mart, sir. The others are Nines, Eren, Romano and Graves."

"Interesting." Trihorn muttered when he pulled up a report about Mart. "Says here you nearly beat the record… My record."

"Yes, sir." Mart smirked and Trihorn grinned at the teen's audacity.

"It appears I have a challenger. I accept."

Armitage elbowed Trihorn who coughed at the hit while the red head muttered, "You're no longer taking those lessons, Tri."

"I can ask the General." Trihorn groaned, standing back up and scanned the contents of his holopad again. "Well, Nines, don't you have a squad?"

"They're all still asleep." Nines answered, taking a sip from his drink. "I wouldn't worry about them."

"Mhm." Trihorn hummed, noticing that Phasma was teaching the squad but decided to move on to Eren, Romano and Graves. "You three have quite a decent record on your forte." Trihorn then glanced at the other Ensign whose name remained unknown to him. "What's your name?"

"Mitaka." The Ensign replied and Trihorn quickly pulled up the report.

"Ah, so that's how you contacted Lynx." He said to Armitage who nodded.

"I didn't realize Locke put it in the records." Armitage muttered after taking a glance at it.

Trihorn's eyes widened slightly while he slowly put down his holopad, "Locke? The officer who taught me? I'm wondering where he went."

"To a base called Starkiller." Armitage replied before raising an eyebrow, "Don't suppose you could access it?"

"Uhm." Trihorn looked through his holopad again before frowning. "It's locked tight but I might be able to slice it."

"Do it later." Armitage whispered, his gaze to the door and Trihorn took a look to find Brendol and Sloane walking in.

"Kriff. They're not supposed to see us together." Trihorn mumbled, taking a seat beside Mitaka while Armitage walked away, pretending not to have noticed them.

"So, boys." Trihorn started when the two superiors glanced at them before taking their seats at their usual spot. "Act casual here."

"Sure. Up for a game later?" Mart grinned and Trihorn returned his own.

"Meet me at hangar twenty-four."

"Wait, they were testing a TIE in that hangar, weren't they?" Eren queried and Trihorn nodded.

"I am testing said TIE and I need a co-pilot."

"Co-pilot?"

"Makes flying easier on my part." Trihorn replied, glancing at the General who motioned with his hands for him to join them. "I have to go. Can I bet the rest of you are coming?"

"I won't. Captain Phasma probably wants me back." Nines said.

"Captain Phasma." Trihorn muttered the word, as if tasting it before he gave a smile. "I love it."

He left before any of them could question him further and joined Brendol, Sloane and Armitage at their table. When he plopped down beside Armitage albeit too eagerly, he received stares from the others but being his carefree self, he ignored them. However, he noticed Brendol frowning which caused him to clear his throat awkwardly and fix his sitting position.

"You called, sir?" He asked politely, nearly shrinking when the frown turned into a glare.

"Hm. It seems you do still have a problem." Sloane muttered, not looking up from her food but a smirk formed on her face when Brendol gave a sigh.

"It looks like I have to get your mind checked." Brendol hissed and Trihorn flinched at the tone.

"Father, why did you call him?" Armitage queried, eyes narrowed at Trihorn in a sense for him to play along.

After all, they were still under the impression that Armitage hated Trihorn for the betrayal.

Sloane stopped her meal to reach into her pockets and pulled out a necklace, "Does this look familiar?"

Trihorn's eyes widened when Sloane dropped the necklace into his open palm, "This… This is my necklace."

"We have confirmed that your parents were both smugglers although they settled down on a planet for your safety." She explained while Trihorn opened the necklace to see an image of his parents on the left with his motto on the right.

 _'Make friends first, before enemies.'_ He smiled before looking up at Sloane and muttered, "Thank you, sir. For returning this to me."

"We didn't want to at first." Brendol mumbled before getting elbowed by Sloane.

He was lucky enough to not have any food in his mouth.

Trihorn clipped the necklace around his neck, a smile still evident on his face as he looked at the image one last time. Sure enough, he had his mother's blue eyes and smile along with his father's electric blue hair and stature. He closed the necklace and hid it under his shirt when Brendol cleared his throat.

"We found out that your father was a respected smuggler and your mother, a beloved woman so we will be using your heritage to negotiate with the smugglers." Brendol said, finishing his meal. "After all, they will listen to a fellow smuggler."

"I guess that's valid." Trihorn nodded, standing up when the others did so. "When shall we begin?"

"As soon as possible." Sloane muttered, handing him a data stick. "This contains a cartel that we have been aiming for. Make them support our cause and you will learn of a weapon that we have been working on."

"A weapon?" Armitage queried before deciding to salute and walk away with Trihorn when he received no answer.

"They surely have been hiding something." Trihorn said thoughtfully, putting in the stick and downloaded its contents.

"I want to know what." Armitage hissed, looking at Trihorn's holopad when the download completed and they had settled down on the couch in their room.

"Before we begin, did they just subtly asked us to work together?" The blue head queried and Armitage thought about it before nodding.

"It would seem so. We are to work together in the future, correct?" The red head smiled and Trihorn did so too.

"You're right. Now, the cartel we are after… It's run by a Nikto named Hazafri Min. It's mostly about smuggling, piracy and gambling. They have a base in Sibensko with their main base being in Bastatha."

"So, we've got the places nailed down." Armitage stood up and started pacing, his mind working on a speech. "What else?"

"Nothing much other than two attached files." Trihorn opened the first file. "First, we've got another Nikto named Rinnrivin Di… Wait, we've met him before, haven't we?"

"Briefly." Armitage nodded, looking at the holopad while standing behind Trihorn. "He was there on Tatooine when we were partying. Lynx seems to know him very well."

"I wonder why." Trihorn said, bringing up a holoNet report.

 _~Breaking News: Mandalorian Bounty Hunters was last seen being helped by this Nikto. Anyone with information of their whereabouts will be paid handsomely for it. Otherwise, bounty on their heads has been increased tenfold.~_

"There's a price on her head?" Armitage queried.

"Used to be. The bounty was claimed by a Rodian who shot down the vessel. He didn't really check if there were any survivors." Trihorn pulled up another article. "His name is Brisa and he worked with them before."

"I see." Armitage nodded, starting to pace again. "What about the other file?"

"Amaxine warriors." Trihorn stated which caused Armitage to stop abruptly. "Sloane wants us to persuade them to procure funds and get Di to lead the cartel. Sounds complicated but I think we'll manage."

"Looks like we'll have to ask the ladies for assistance. Lynx knows the Nikto quite well and she will be the only one who can contact him since he is roaming the galaxy. We need to find a way to get to the Amaxine Warriors and start trading."

"Weapons. They take weapons for services." Trihorn told him, standing up when his stomach grumbled. "You know, I didn't actually eat breakfast and would like to do so now."

"It's crowded though."

"I'm starving and basic necessities comes first before petty excuses." Trihorn huffed, walking out the door and Armitage followed. "I also need to go test that TIE."

"I have a class to get to." Armitage remembered, going down a separate hall. "I'll see you later?"

"Hold on, you have a class?" Trihorn queried, stopping Armitage in the middle of the hallway.

"Yes." Armitage smiled. "I'm taking over Colonel Locke's class. I'll see you later Tri."

"Uh yeah." Trihorn continued walking, tilting his head slightly. "A class? Huh."

All he could say was good luck.

* * *

A.N. Currently having a complete writer's block with this book. Probably won't upload a new chapter for a while.


End file.
